The Phoenix and the Black Bird II: Veil of Darknes
by BloodCri
Summary: Sequil to The Phoenix and the Black Bird. Cri is back and it's a good thing too. A disease is spreading throughout the city making people act like animals. Story better than summery. Rated for violence. Chapter 15 up Finally...
1. The Plan of a Predator

Disclaimer – I do not own Teen Titans, Eragon, BloodRayne, Deltora Quest, Soul Reaver, Dark Stalkers, The Legend of Dragoon, or any of the other things that I took little tidbits from.

Hey everyone!!! I'm back with the sequel to The Phoenix and the Black Bird!!! I got enough votes to write this and I am very happy (although more is always nice). I'm gonna need your encouragement to write this story cuz writing ain't an easy thing to do when you have homework. Haunted Tower will probably come out in a little while. I'm gonna try and finish it before I start Chapter 2.

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**Chapter 1 : The Plan of a Predator**

The War

Cri's eyes glowed red as she did a flying, no handed cartwheel, the sounds of her twin dhampir guns being muffled with screams of agony from her enemies. She hit the ground hard, and rolled, shooting bullets all around her. After about 10 long bloody minutes of fighting, she had single handedly wiped out an entire troop of human solders. She pulled her fangs from a soldier's neck, and dropped him to the ground. She ran one gloved hand through her blood streaked hair and sighed heavily. She missed her friends and her pet, but she couldn't go back to them until her mission was complete here.

There was a soft rustling in the bushes behind Cri. She turned in an instant, guns and blades at the ready. It was a stick with a blood stained white cloth at the end. Someone seemed to be waving it in an 'I surrender' fashion. She slowly walked up to the bush and pushed aside the leaves. There, crouched among the sticks and dead leaves, was a boy. He was no older than she had been when she had come to this accursed dimension. His attire was that of a solider, but he had no gun. Little spots of matted reddish brown hair, streaked with black, poked out from under his cracked helmet. His eyes, a rich forest green, were wide with fear.

Despite all her training, Cri pitied him. This enemy boy, who was probably dragged away from his family to fight in a war from hell. She couldn't help herself when she put her hand on his shoulder. He cried out in fear, and her vampire half seemed to smile, urging her to drink the boy's blood. She shook off the feeling and gently shushed him. "It's ok…You surrendered and you're defenseless…I'm not going to hurt you. I would never dream of that."

The boy looked up at this strange girl. What he saw was an evil creature who needed to feed of blood to survive, but this one seemed different. Her ice blue eyes were soft, and her smile was real. He couldn't help but slowly calm down as he gazed into her piercing, but gentle eyes who seemed to despise this war almost as much as he did.

"Could you do me a favor?" she asked, her voice light but without a hint of the lust that showed in the voices of all other vampires he has met. He could see her fangs when she talked. They were short and unextended. "Could you help me end this war? Once and for all?" The boy looked up into her eyes again, and they were filled with a gleam of excitement.

Titans Tower

It had been 7 days since Cri, the dhampir, left to fight a war in another dimension. Spike, her pet who had been left in the care of the Titans, often sat on the roof gazing out over the city. The Titans had been rather depressed without her around…And have had to order take out or pizza every day since she left. "Oh I do miss Friend Cri." Starfire said sadly. "Her homemade pizza is a lot better than this one from the Hut of Pizza." Everyone nodded their agreement. "Dude," Beastboy said. "Video Games just aren't the same without Cri kicking our butts all over the place." Robin gave him a weird look. "I can't believe you just said that Beastboy." Beastboy just nodded and kept playing. "She'll be back." Raven said nonchalantly. "Sooner than you think."

"Awwwwwwww I'm glad everyone missed me." Everyone turned towards the sound of the familiar voice. "CRI!!!" They all shouted. She seemed to be at least 3 inches taller and her body was more toned. Her left fang was a little crooked and hung over her lip in a rather cute sort of way. Her hair had to be a lot longer and she had her 'bangs' pulled back in a ponytail so they were out of her face. Everything about her was at least a little changed, except her eyes and chakra gem. They still burned with blue fires of life and ambition.

Starfire ran up to her and gave her a hug, although she couldn't seem to crush her. "Sorry star I'm wearing very strong body armor. She smiled and Spike ran up and started licking her. "Spike!" She said between giggles. "Stop, that! It tickles." Beastboy ran up to her and gave her a crushing hug in gorilla form that actually started to bend her body armor. "BB let go or else you're going to crush my body armor and I will never get this suit off again!" Robin just smiled and waved. The second Beastboy put her down, Cyborg started patting her on the back, making her fall over.

Raven walked up to Cri and helped her up. "How long has it been?" Raven asked smirking. Cri smiled back at her. "At least 7 years." The Titans gasped. "What? It has. 7 years this very day." Robin looked up at her nervously. "Cri," he said. "You have only been gone for a week." She gives him a funny look. "Well that shows how much of a time difference there was…"

"Oh," Cyborg exclaims. "I have your computer. I didn't let BB touch it at all." As Cyborg gets up to get her computer, he is stopped by a small whimper near the couch. He raises an eyebrow and all the Titans quickly look towards the couch. Cri smiled, "Everyone, there is someone I would like you to meet." She crouches near the couch and looks under it. "It's okay Nightingale, no one is going to hurt you." A shadow slides out and forms into a small girl. She runs and hides behind Cri's silk cape. The Titans lean over to try and see who this new girl is. From the glimpse they saw of her. She was dressed in a black short sleeved cotton top. Her black leather pants were tucked into a pair of heavy knee high snow boots. Her skin was deathly pale, contrasting her raven black hair. Her eyes were softly glowing, and a piercing ice blue. There was something familiar about those eyes.

Cri stepped aside revealing the girl again before she dived behind her cape. She sighed and took her cape off, throwing it onto the couch. The girl eeped and clung to Cri's leg. "Sorry guys…Untill she becomes less shy around you you're gonna have to make due with this. I want you all to meet Nightingale, my daughter."

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This is so mean of me huh? Leaving you on a cliffie like this…Oh well, your just gonna have to DEAL WITH IT!!!!!! MUH HA HA HA HA!!! ::coughs:: 


	2. Veil of the Abyss

Disclaimer – I do not own Teen Titans, Eragon, BloodRayne, Deltora Quest, Soul Reaver, Dark Stalkers, The Legend of Dragoon, or any of the other things that I took little tidbits from.

Hi everyone! I will finish Haunted tower eventually but if you want me to focus more time on this story, please leave a review and tell me. Remember, if you think I should change something, tell me. Just don't flame, or else I will drain your blood, drink it, and feed your corpse to pigs...

(p.s. Note to all who take everything seriously. That was a joke.)

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**Chapter 2 : Veil of the Abyss**

The War

Cri held out her hand to the boy. "C'mon, will you help me?" The boy hesitated, afraid that she may be trying to trick him. "I'm not trying to trick you. You can carry a gun if you want to. Shoot me if I betray you. But if you try and betray me I will make every waking moment of the rest of your life a twisted nightmare of pain and suffering. Do I make myself clear?" The boy nodded slowly. The way her eyes had changed from sweet to deadly scared him out of his wits.

Cri handed him an assault rifle that was held by one of the solders. She striped the rest of magazines and handed them to him. She bent over, dipping the tip of her dhampir guns into one of the blood pools that covered the ground. The guns began to pump the blood into the magazines that she had. She switched magazines and did it again. "My name is Cri Amylisa Rayne." She said without looking up. "What's yours?"

The boy's eyes widened. She was a dhampir not a vampire. She was the one his superiors told him and the other solders about to scare them and make them fight harder. She was the 'dangerous one.' But here she was, refilling her guns, asking him, a mere third class trainee on a simple re supply mission gone wrong, to help her end this war. "M-my name is Taylor, Taylor Alexander Sanchez. And I don't know the first thing about ending this war."

Cri looked up at him. She had heard the name Sanchez somewhere before. She shrugged it off and smiled at him. It was an odd little half smile that showed her left fang. "Don't worry, you wont have to do that much. Just do what I tell you too and with a little luck we can at least make peace for awhile." She finished filling her magazines and stood up, stretching her muscles. "But for now, let's make camp. I get a headache if I don't get enough sleep, and trust me, you do not want to see me in a bad mood.

Titans Tower

The Titans stared at their teammate in shock. Robin was the first who found his voice. "How?...When?...What do you mean? You mean she is your fledgling right" Cri shakes her head. "I mean exactly what I meant. Nightingale is my daughter. She is my flesh and blood and I will never let anything happen to her." Cri reaches down and messes up Nightingale's hair making her laugh and try to escape.

Starfire squealed in delight and picked the young girl up in a crushing hug. "I just love children. Please friend Cri, how old is she" Cri managed to pry Night out of Starfire's grip before she suffocated. "She is 5 years old as of tomorrow." Starfire jumped up. "Then we must prepare a party of birthdays for her" Robin quickly dragged her away to try and calm her down.

Cri glanced in the doorway. "I almost forgot. I also would like to introduce you to the person who helped me stop the war. Meet Taylor Alexander Sanchez. A young human boy with matted red hair walked out of the shadows. He had expected to see a room full of vampires but he was met with the sight of a half robot man, a little green elf, a girl with green eyes and orange skin, some sort of Goth, and his childhood comic book hero. "Taylor meet the Teen Titans. Teen Titans meet Taylor."

Taylor timidly waves. Starfire squeals in delight, and rushes up to him, leaving Robin on the couch. "Please tell me; where do you come from, how did you get here, what is your favorite color, what is your favorite animal, do you wish to be my friend" Taylor was amazed how much she could say in one breath. "Well, I come from the planetTearkon , Cri teleported me, gun metal black, my pet wyvern, sure" Starfire squealed again and grabbed him in a crushing hug. "Hello new friend" Cri tapped Starfire on the shoulder. "I know your body doesn't need that much oxygen but you might wanna let him go. He's turning blue." Star immediately let him go and begged his forgiveness.

Cri smiled at the Titans. "My husband Soto, the commander of the vampire army, and amazingly a full bred member of the 'Council of 13', is still back in the other dimension. I was able to call a temporary truce. It's supposed to last 20 years at minimum but he decided to stay behind and command his army, just in case. He will contact me if there is any trouble. I just want to say that if there is, I want to leave Night here with you guys. This way she will be safe." Cri smiled down at her daughter who had busied herself with examining the Gamestation. "Just don't tell her. I don't want to upset her."

Raven cleared her throat. "Perhaps a tour of the city is in order. Cri nodded, but Taylor shook his head. "I'm tired. I will take the tour tomorrow." Cri nodded again and turned to Raven "Will you come with us? It will make everything easier…I've forgotten where most things are." Raven nodded and opened the elevator. "Now, I would think, would be the best time." She said. Cri gestured to Nightingale and she got up and walked into the elevator. Cri got in after her. "She is a lot smarter than she should be for her age." The elevator doors close and bring them down to the first floor.

Cri hands Nightingale a pair of sunglasses as she leads her out of the tower. Cri faces the city, taking a deep breath of the salty air. "I missed this place." She smiled down at Night who now, with the sunglasses on, looked like someone from the Matrix. "We are gonna fly ok? If you start to get tired I will carry you, but I want you to try, ok" She smiles and nods up at her mother, still too timid to talk around Raven who had appeared next to them.

Night summoned a pair of Jet black feathered wings. They reflected midnight blue as the sun hit them, unlike Cri's who reflected a grayish white. Cri flapped her wings softly and rose off of the ground. Night accomplished the same feat but with more difficulty. Raven rose into the air behind them and then all three were flying towards the city.

Cri dived down and dragged her hand across the surface of the water. She relished its cool feel smiling. She climbed back up when they reached the docs, just clearing the roof of the warehouse she had been held captive in by Slade. She rejoined her daughter and Raven who was pointing out useful details. "That's the pizza place." She said in her usual monotone. "That's the bank, and there's the park. Terra's statue was moved there from Slade's destroyed base."

Cri had already started to tune Raven out. The dhampiric warrior knew all of this. She had begun to think about the war. She thought how she had met Soto, the leader of the vampire army. How he had scoffed at her claim of a dhampir being able to use magic. How she had fallen in love with him when he had been shot. Yes, it had turned from a battle into a slaughterhouse after she saw Soto get hurt. She thought about the first time she held Nightingale in her arms. So beautiful was she then. Oh how much more beautiful she was now.

She was snapped out of her daydream by a wave of dark energy. She shivered and looked around for its source. She sniffed the air and her eyes widened. 'The veil…It's…It's in the air.' She realized the energy she had felt was from a human's aura…An _infected_ human's aura.

The War

Cri got up and stretched her muscles. She yawned loudly, rubbing her eyes. She looked down at the young human boy, sleeping less than 2 feet from where she was. She walked out of the makeshift tent and began her morning stretches.

The dhampir quickly finished and climbed a tree. She began carefully examining all the branches before hopping to the next one and repeating the process. She soon found what she was looking for. A newly made crow's nest with 3 eggs sitting inside it. She took the eggs just as the mother crow got back. The crow dived at her and she grabbed it out of the sky without looking up. "I hope he isn't a vegetarian," she said to herself softly. She jumped out of the tree and headed back to camp, picking up acorns on the way.

Taylor was awoken from his nightmares by the smell of cooking eggs and meat. He sat up slowly as the past few days events came back to him. He quickly looked around. Where was the dhampir girl, Cri? He quickly got up and put his helmet on. 'Maybe it was all a dream. Maybe when I open this tent door I will see my team.'

He looked out of the tent and his heart sunk. It was just Cri cooking…Eggs? 'Where the heck did she get eggs?' He wondered. 'And what smells like cooking meat?' "That would be a crow and its eggs." She replied without looking up. Taylor jumped. She had actually read his mind. "Come on; eat it while it's hot. It tastes a lot better than the name suggests." He sat down and Cri handed him what looked like a smallish, fire cooked chicken, roasted acorns, and 3 sunny side up eggs. The second thing he noticed was how good it smelled. He dove into the food, ravenous.

Cri stared at him. She was eating a few strips of dried rabbit meat she had paced in her bag. She had expected him to be hungry, but he was wolfing down the food like a man who hadn't eaten in weeks. He finished far before her and sighed softly looking content. "Am I really that good a cook" She asked, a playful smile on her face. "Yes" he said smiling back. "It was very good but you see, the reason I ate so fast is that we are not fed much because rations are low. Why yesterday my party had run out of food."

Cri nodded at him. "That's actually how Soto plans to beat you guys…by cutting off you food supply." Taylor raised his eyebrows. "We suspected something like that, but who is Soto" She smiled at him, her eyes loosing their focus. "He's…my husband…Soto Endon Donavan Rayne." The boy looked up at her curiously. "So he has 2 middle names" Cri couldn't help but laugh to herself. "No, actually, in the vampiric community, the male takes the female's last name." Taylor slapped his face. "I forgot about that! Sorry."

Cri chuckled softly. "And his best friend and second in command is…" Her eyes widened as something dawned on her. "Who" The boy asked. "Never mind that." She said quickly. "Taylor, do you have an older brother" The boy nodded. "That's why I joined the army…He was bitten and turned by a vampire…" Cri nodded. "Now I remember where I have heard the last name Sanchez before…You do know what this means don't you? We will be able to end this war a lot faster and with a lot less risks."

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I'm evil aren't I? At least the cliffhangers in this chapter aren't as bad as the one's in the last chapter, and in the last story for that matter. I can't wait to start the next chapter! But I should finish Haunted Tower…READ AND REVIEW! 


	3. Darkness Illusion

Disclaimer – I do not own Teen Titans, Eragon, BloodRayne, Deltora Quest, Soul Reaver, Dark Stalkers, The Legend of Dragoon, or any of the other things that I took little tidbits from.

Hi people! I hope you enjoy this chapter of "The Phoenix and the Black Bird II: Veil of Darkness." I'm actually getting a grade for writing this! Can you believe it? Of course you can! If I wasn't I would have never finished this story cuz I'm so lazy. Your reviews also help A LOT! So please read, review, and enjoy the story.

P.S. Just a note to everyone. I'm going to be updating slower but I'm going to try to make things more descriptive…Which means fight scenes may get a little graphic. Please don't be offended. I have been reading Ann Rice and am just now really realizing how HORRIBLE my stories are. Expect some big words and some really descriptive details.

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**Chapter 3 : Darkness Illusion**

The Tower

Cri stopped in mid flight, beating her powerful wings in the air trying to hover. She pulled into a shallow dive, heading for an alleyway. It took a few seconds for Raven and Nightingale to notice she was missing. "Mommy" Nightingale asked in a timid voice. Raven's eyes widened. Nightingale's voice…It reminded her so much of Morrigan's. Her voice was a lot like Cri's but higher. It seemed to show much more emotion and maybe a hint of unintentional seductiveness.

Nightingale dived after her dhampiric mother. Raven followed close behind, the wind blowing her hood off. Night half landed, half crashed in the alleyway she saw her mother disappear in, Raven right behind her. The sight that met their eyes was puzzling indeed. Cri was cradling the head of a young teenaged boy whispering words of comfort at him. The boy was sweating and seemed to be in great pain. Raven knew that Cri was surprisingly compassionate, even more so considering not only what she was, but that compassion didn't seem to run in her family.

Raven approached her and knelt down near the boy. His body was giving off a dark aura, and he looked as if he were having a seizure. His eyes were rolled back in his head and his breath was coming in short gasps through his foam flecked lips. His entire body was shaking violently, his muscles twitching. Cri ran her hands through his hair and over his cheeks trying to calm him. She was now humming a sweet tune, but her eyes. Even if Cri could hide her emotions from Raven's empathy, Cri's eyes held a fear she had never seen before in any mortal being.

"He has been infected by the veil's mutative waste." Cri said without looking up. "It must have been spilled into the water or something." Raven looked at her curiously. "What is the veil, Cri? You're keeping something from me." Cri nodded glumly. "I was actually planning on coming back after the peace treaty was completely confirmed, but a fortnight before the meeting; I got a call from Brimstone. They told me about the veil and how it was infecting humans. I couldn't wait any longer because I didn't know how time differed between worlds." Raven nodded. "But what does this…Sickness do" Cri looked down at the boy who was starting to go pale. "It mimics corrupted vampirism."

The War

Taylor stared at Cri, numb with shock. "Is my brother…Really alive" Cri nods. "If he really is your brother, that is. I think we should take a visit to the vampire base camp and pay him a visit. I'm sure he would love to see you." The boy gulped and went a few shades paler. Was she serious? The vampire base camp? He would be torn to pieces as soon as he set foot in the door. Taylor opened his mouth to speak, but Cri cut him off with a wave of her hand. "As long as you stick close to me you will be fine. They will probably think you're a tribute or my pet or something." The boy glared at her. "Suuure, I'm you're pet. Would you like me to do a trick"

Taylor nearly slapped himself. Being sarcastic with a vampire who could kill him at any time was _really_ smart. He closed his eyes, cringing away from the pain he was about to feel. He cracked his eyes when he heard laughing. Cri was laughing at him. "You remind me of one of my best friends! She saved my life once you know." The boy nodded sick with relief. "C'mon, let's pack up and go."

………………………………………………………

Cri and Taylor approached the vampire base. He stared up at its stone walls and shivered. This was La Rosa Rossa, or The Red Rose. It was the ultimate defensive complex. It's walls were 3 feet thick and solid concrete, and much too high to scale. The ledges on the walls gave archers the ability to target the enemy easily. This was all that was known about the base. No human has ever made it out of there alive.

Cri pulled out a radio and said something in a weird language. The reply also came in the language. 'It must be vampire old tongue.' Taylor thought to himself. The huge iron gates opened as they approached and Cri led the boy inside the base. He just had enough time to look behind him and see the gates close and lock before he was faced with a mob of vampires.

The Tower

Cri looked back down at the boy, tears stinging the corners of her eyes. "Why did this happen to one so young? This disease will kill him if the police don't first." She looked back down at the boy. He was shaking more violently now and he had started making choking sounds.

Cri ran her hands down his cheeks again. She noticed a chain he had around his neck, the charm tucked under his shirt. She picked it up; she knew what the charm was before she even saw it. A tiny silver cross was what she held in her palm. Small tendrils of steam rose from where it touched but she didn't seem to notice. She couldn't keep her tears back this time, and she didn't try. The tears landed on the cross and the boy, not bloody like other vampire's.

Raven hesitantly put her hand up and put it on Cri's shoulder. Cri looked up at her. She knew the empath couldn't express emotions for fear of hurting someone but Cri saw a deep sadness in her eyes. She nodded at Raven, acknowledging that she understood her pain. It wasn't easy to see someone suffer like this, even if you have been an assassin part of your life and are used to death.

Cri sighed and looked back down at the boy. He had stopped shaking and was coughing softly. He groaned softly and rolled over onto his chest seemingly trying to get up. The cross was tugged from her hand by the chain. Color was actually returning to his cheeks and he opened his eyes a little. Cri watched this completely puzzled. "He's…actually ok…but…humans can't overcome this disease on their own…How..." Her voice trailed off.

Cri looked back down at the boy who had managed to climb to his knees. "Maybe God just wanted him to live." Raven raised one eyebrow. "Since when did you become religious Cri" The dhampir smiled at the half demon. "Ever since I have been to 'the war from hell' and back." She sighed solemnly. "I just wish I could hold a cross in my hand without it hurting me." She looked down at her hand and gasped. Raven whipped around and looked at her hand. There wasn't a scratch on it. "I don't understand…" Cri muttered to herself. "I know it burned me." Raven thought for a moment. "Well…You are a phoenix…and phoenix tears heal."

Cri stared at Raven blankly. She looked back at the boy; his face was covered in little glistening spots where her tears fell on his face. 'That must have been what healed him,' she thought. She gestured to Nightingale who helped the boy shakily to his feet. It didn't last long though. The boy fell at Cri's feet thanking her and kissing her shoes. She literally had to hop on one foot and peel him off to be able to walk again. "Please miss" he begged, crawling closer so he was kneeled at her feet. "How can I show you my gratitude? Just name it. I will give you anything that is within my power to give."

Raven watched what Cri would do next. It wasn't common that a human would lie at a dhampir's feet saying that they would do whatever they wanted. She watched Cri's face change. The empath had never seen the expression on Cri's or anyone's face. Her face was a mix of amazement, hunger, lust, and fear. Her mouth was slightly opened showing her fangs. Even if Raven didn't recognize the expression on her face, she knew exactly what was running through her mind. "Cri…" Raven warned softly. "Don't…"

Cri continued to stare at the boy. She had not fed in nearly 2 weeks and she could feel her bloodlust rising. The sound of the boy's heart pounding filled her ears. She could nearly see his veins pumping blood just under his creamy colored skin. She could practically smell the boy's complete submission to her power. And the taste…She could already taste the warm, sweet blood quenching her eternal thirst.

Cri winced as she felt her fangs extend in anticipation. She ran her tongue over them her lust growing, overwhelming her senses. She struggled to fight it but knew that this was one fight she wouldn't win. She had waited too long and this innocent boy was going to pay the price. She knelt down in front of the boy. "I just want you to do one thing for me." She said. Her voice was dangerously smooth and seductive. The boy looked up at her fear beginning to fill his eyes. "Don't move." She whispered to him. She leaned over and inhaled deeply. The smell of his fear was driving her wild. She forced his head to one side lowering her fangs to his neck.

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Ann Rice would be proud. But here's the thing. How can I possibly describe that so well if I'm not a vampire myself? I guess you will never know…:laughs evilly and disappears: 


	4. Red Mist

Disclaimer – I do not own Teen Titans, Eragon, BloodRayne, Deltora Quest, Soul Reaver, Dark Stalkers, The Legend of Dragoon, or any of the other things that I took little tidbits from.

Hi everyone! I FINALLY finished "Haunted Tower." For those of you who read it you will know it's horrible. I got lazy and decided not to type every floor. It's very hard to write a story, so don't complain. :glare: Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. I will include a little list at the end or I will make it the next chapter on what each 'name' means. (Read the story and you will understand). I won't do it if you review and tell me not to.

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**Chapter 4 : Red Mist**

The War

Cri stepped between the advancing vampires and Taylor. "Back off." She hissed her voice as cold as ice. The vampires took a few steps back. Cri started walking towards a medium sized stone building in the middle of the complex, Taylor close behind. The vampires moved to the side clearing a path for her. A few stepped forward eyeing the boy hungrily. Cri snapped down one of her blades and pointed it at the closest one's neck. "This is not the rations crew. I know you are all out of food but we are here to help." The vampires backed away and Cri led Taylor the rest of the way without any trouble.

Cri opened a heavy wooden door and walked in, talking the whole time. "Address him as Commander ShadowRyan Jacob Sanchez." She said to Taylor. "Shadow means he is strategic, a quick thinker, and cool in the line of fire. There are many rankings. Abyss deals with dark magic, knives, and stealth. Terra, Pyro, Hydro, and Aero deal with different elemental magics. Philosopher deals with Alchemy. Bolt means expert in ranged combat. Spark is melee. Silver means they are resistant to most normal weaknesses. And there are a number of others including ones who represent more then one and how the words are laid out."

Taylor nodded only getting half of what the Dhampir said. "Ok," he said, a bit lost. "So what are you?" She smiled her odd little black smile. "I'm Agent BloodCri. Agent in vampire old tongue is the equivalent of every quality of an assassin. Blood is my ranking. It means I have had over 50 missions and succeeded in every one of them, in excellent time, with minimal injuries…considering what I was doing of course. I am the only one who carries this ranking." The boy's face paled and he clamped his mouth firmly shut. He now knew why so many had fallen at this girl's hands.

They climbed down a flight of stairs and she opened a pair of beautifully crafted double doors and walked into a very large and exquisite underground chamber. The walls were covered in a dark stained wood. Scenes of battles, angles, demons, and nature had been intricately carved into the wood. Every indentation in these pictures were stained a much lighter color and seemed to flicker and come to life in the light of the oil lamps. The lamps were on golden stands and lined the room so as to cast many shadows which flickered in and out of existence like a single wisp of thought. In the middle of the room was a gold lined table made of ebony black wood. Around it, sitting in silver chairs lined with red velvet were the vampire elders.

Taylor gulped and took one step in, his boot sinking deeply into the blood red fibers of the carpet. He looked down, surprised. It seemed to him that the carpet was a pool of blood covered in blue tentacles that twisted like fragments of fire, reaching, trying to wrap themselves around his ankle and drag him into the shadows. He shuddered and took another step, his legs feeling like rubber, and his feet were just blocks of lead. When he finally reached the table he was shaking violently and had to cling to a corner of the table for support. The vampires stared at him, but the one a few seats down with red brown hair seemed to look at him as if he were trying to remember something.

Cri smiled at the council. She bowed down onto one knee but didn't lower her head. "Council of elders," she addressed them with utmost respect. "I think I have found a way to end this war, but first let me introduce you to the human that is going to help me, Taylor Alexander Sanchez!"

The council just watched Taylor for a second then the vampire with the red brown hair got up and walked up to him and looked straight into his eyes. The vampire's eyes widened and he pulled the boy into a soft embrace. "It brings me great joy to see you again, my brother."

The Tower

Raven had seen the lust in Cri's, normally gentle, blue eyes. It was then that she realized how much more willpower it took to control an inner beast of that magnitude. Many people pitied her for being forced to control her emotions, but they hunted the vampire when it was this strange creature who deserved every ounce of their pity, not her.

Cri couldn't stop it. Her mind was completely blank, her willpower gone. The only thing she could focus on was the boy, this sweet innocent boy. She inhaled deeply; the sent of his fear was so pure, so sweet. She let her breath out slowly, making the boy tremble. She sat like this for a moment, savoring her feeling of absolute power. She dragged her tongue over the skin of his neck, an enzyme in her saliva mildly numbing the skin, before sinking her fangs deeply into his warm soft flesh.

The boy whimpered softly as he felt her bite down harder. 'She is one of them.' His panicked mind thought. 'I have to get away, I can't die like this.' He closed his eyes tightly his world spinning. He could only vaguely hear someone shout and a sharp cry of pain before he was suddenly dropped to the concrete again.

Nightingale stood over the boy. Her right heel spike covered with blood, Cri lay a few feet away a deep wound in her left shoulder. Night healed the bite marks, which had begun to bleed, and helped the boy up. She quickly attempted to explain what had happened and apologized many times over.

Raven, just recovering from shock, ran over to Cri. Nightingale had kicked her hard enough to crack the bricks of the wall. 'Why am I not surprised?' She thought to herself. The dhampir stirred slightly and lifted her head, pressing her palms against her temples. "Oh my head…What happened? I feel like I just ran into a brick wall at sixty miles per hour." Raven glanced over at Night who was desperately apologizing to the boy. "More likely it was a little over a hundred."

Cri looked up at Raven, a puzzled expression on her face. "I-I think I remember now…I" Her eyes widened and she looks around tears stinging the corners of her eyes. "My bloodlust…I lost control, I can't believe I lost control!" She pulled her legs up to her chest and buried her face in her knees, crying silently.

Raven knelt next to her and hesitated for a moment before resting a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay Cri…No one was seriously hurt…Except maybe for you." She gently touched the shoulder that Nightingale's heel spike had punctured her shoulder. It wasn't bleeding much but it had torn muscle and was deep enough to hit bone.

Cri reached up and touched the wound, wincing. She looked over at her shoulder, sighed and dropped her head onto her knees again. "I deserve worse…A lot worse" Raven's eyes narrowed. "Why do you say that? You didn't do any damage…" Cri whipped her head around and looked at the empath. Her eyes seemed to burn with blue fire. "I could have killed him Raven! I can't afford to loose control _ever._ What if Nightingale wasn't here? He would be dead, that's right Raven, _dead!_ And it would be my fault…" Cri's eyes softened again and she rested her head back onto her knees.

Raven almost pulled back. She gave Cri's shoulder a soft squeeze. "I understand how you feel. Maybe not exactly but…" Raven's voice trailed off and Cri looked up at her, her eyes slowly returning to their normal soft caring self. She forced a smile and nodded at the empath. "Thanks."

Cri shakily stood up and walked over to the boy who shrank back from her. "I am truly sorry," she said bowing slightly. "But the way you were acting made me feel similar to a person who has spent 3 days in the desert without anything to drink and there being a barrel of water in front of them. I know it's a stupid analogy but it's the only thing I can think of at the time." She reached into her pocket and pressed something into his hand. "Please accept this with my apologies." She motioned for Nightingale and they both took off together Raven, after a moment's hesitation, followed.

The boy watched them go, still badly shaken. He looked down into his hand. It was a half dollar sized, oval, blood red ruby amulet. It was set into an obsidian base with two bat wings coming out of either side. The areas of bone structure on the wings were lined with silver. It must have been carved out of one piece because he found no markings where the bat wings attached themselves to the backing. He was still admiring the detail of the amulet when he heard a scream echo through the streets, not even a half block from where he was now.

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Well that concludes this chapter. Sorry I took so long getting it out. I have been getting a little lazy with typing and all but I really haven't been getting that many reviews so If you really like this story and know someone else who would also like it SEND IT TOO THEM AND ASK THEM TO REVIEW. It would mean the world to me. And everyone who does gets a free cookie:holds up a giant cookie as big as a trash can lid: Help me out here! 


	5. The Calling

Disclaimer – I do not own Teen Titans, Eragon, BloodRayne, Deltora Quest, Soul Reaver, Darkstalkers, The Legend of Dragoon, or any of the other things that I took little tidbits from.

Hi all sorry about waiting so long to get this chapter out and all. I once again got lazy and I had a bunch of homework n' stuff. I also got wrapped up playing FF8, and The Legend of Dragoon, and Darkstalkers n stuff like that. Now for something totally random and unrelated. ! 2 73- /4574- 0 1337. -342 /3-. ! 20 02 2 80 025.

If you know what that says…You're a geek…Welcome my brother…The council of the great nerds expects you…

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**Chapter 5 : The Calling**

The War

Taylor's eyes widened. His brother was alive. The person who had helped him through all those hard times was alive. After a moment he returned his brother's embrace. They stood like this for a long moment before Cri broke the silence. "Ok enough of the lovey-dovey stuff. Commander ShadowRyan, We have come here before you and the council to try and end the war, or at least make peace for awhile." The council members looked at her skeptically. One of the only female members stood up. MoonCelot cleared her thought loudly and glared at Cri. "And how do you propose we do that, half breed?"

Cri winced at the name. Most of the council had never really accepted her. They considered her 'tainted,' and therefore unworthy of being in their army. This was a chance for not only the war to end, but for Dhampirs to be able to come out of hiding and walk among both their human and vampire brethren without being taunted or hunted.

Another council member stood up. It was DuskSoto, the leader of the vampires. He glared at MoonCelot and she sat down. He walked up to Cri and kissed her deeply surprising Taylor to the point of staring. "No one shall harm my soon to be bride for fear of death." He glared at the other vampires. "Is that clear?" The other council members nodded but MoonCelot looked at Cri with pure hatred. She had always had a crush on Soto but she could never win his love. Now she thought this little half breed had just appeared out of nowhere and stolen her love away from her.

Cri glared at MoonCelot, her gaze burning a hole right through her. She had no knowledge of the crush Celot had had on Soto and therefore would often be rude right back. "I will need to be accompanied by at least 4 council members, not including Commander ShadowRyan, and the human of course. Soto, I want you to stay here…" She snuggled closer to him. "I will explain my plan after they have been selected and we arrive at the human's base." A murmur ran through the council. Commander ShadowRyan stood up and addressed the rest of the council. "I am willing to go if it will make peace with the humans. We cannot survive without them and their population is dwindling dangerously low. I say we try this plan, even if it does sound hopeless. I think it's better that we die knowing that we tried, than to drop dead from lack of blood." NovaTalim, always optimistic, jumped to her feet. "I agree with Ryan. Let us die sooner knowing that we tried, than to die miserably wishing we had."

After a lot of persuasion she finally managed to get 3 other council members to agree. ShadowRyan, NovaTalim, CometIsabella, DarkJacob, StarSelena, BloodCri, and Taylor were all getting ready to depart. Cri made sure to pack some blood vials for herself and the other vampires. She quickly put the backpack over her shoulder and motioned for the others to follow her. "Come on, there is no time to loose." And with that they began their long trek to the main human settlement base.

The Tower

The boy ran out of the alleyway and ran down the street. There was a crowd of people running down the street all screaming. The boy managed to see what they were running from and froze. He tried to run but he felt like he was wearing cement shoes. Vampires…Or humans acting like them. They walked down the street grabbing anyone they could and ripping a chunk of skin out of their neck with their short dull fangs and drinking their blood. He braced himself for his own inevitable demise. The infected people were closing in quickly and he knew he had no chance of running. He closed his eyes tightly, his body shaking violently.

After a few seconds of nothing the boy cracked one eye opened. The infected people had passed him without touching him. Tears of relief ran down his face as he sank to his knees. He wiped them away with one hand and gasped. They were tinted red. A chill ran down his spine. He had 'studied' vampires in his free time. It was said their tears were blood. As he raised his hands to touch his eyeteeth it then dawned on him why they passed him. They thought he was one of them. He had been cured of the 'disease' that had been infected them but what damage that had happened was probably permanent.

He ran his tongue over his teeth realizing for the first time how thirsty he was. He spied a young girl hiding in an alleyway and felt his thirst rise. He now knew why Cri couldn't control herself. A real vampire's thirst must be much greater than his own. He tried to turn his head away but couldn't. He rose to his feet, the smell of the girl's fear as he advanced made his thirst grow stronger. He kneeled in front of her, closing his eyes. He resisted with every fiber of his being, but his willpower was fading fast. 'Someone help' he thought to himself as his willpower all but vanished.

The War

After a full day of walking they reached one of the human's sanctuaries...And what a pitiful example it was. The walls were made of wood, the flag was torn, some of the beams looked half rotted, rats were scurrying in and out of the shadows here and there...Very pitiful indeed.

Cri smiled, peeking out of the bush they were hiding behind. They were finally here. She sat down, pulling a few metal objects out of her backpack. Handcuffs, chains, and sort of a muzzle made of chain mail that a human or vampire could strap around our face. She also pulled out a bottle of fake blood. "Alright," she said. "This is what we are gonna do. Taylor, smear this fake blood on your arms and face. Rip your uniform in places too. We want them to think you were fighting. The rest of us will put on these muzzles and handcuffs and stuff and follow you into the base. Then we will talk peace."

The Council members looked at her skeptically. NovaTalim stared at Cri for a good minute. "So…You're asking us to disarm and disgrace ourselves and walk into the enemy base completely helpless where we could be attacked and killed at any time?" Cri looked down at her boots nodding. "Well I guess when you put it that way…" NovaTalim cut her off, "I love the idea! It sounds fun!" Cri couldn't move. She actually fell over fell over from shock. "Riiight…Well then…Lets go."

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Well that ends another chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. I will apologize once again for taking so long to update. 


	6. Feast of the Damned

Disclaimer – I do not own Teen Titans, Eragon, BloodRayne, Deltora Quest, Soul Reaver, Dark Stalkers, The Legend of Dragoon, or any of the other things that I took little tidbits from.

Sorry it took me so long to update. I got a little lazy and I got caught up in all the descriptions…But the major reason is that the floppy disk I kept this chapter on died…I would have had it out DAYS earlier if it hadn't been for THE STUPID FLOPPY DYING AS I TRIED TO UPLOAD THE CHAPTER TO Lucky for me I printed a hard copy before it got erased. :ahem: Anyway I need you reviewers too give me suggestions on names for people in both armies. My friend suggested Major #&tard for Major Lecos's name. He also suggested Major Aldolf Hitla. I told him I thought they were both overused.

On another note I also need help with a decision I am making. I need to know weather to pair Raven with Robin or Beastboy. Robin will make the story longer with a 'triangle' thing and Beastboy will skip all that lovy dovy conflict.

If I get more reviews I might just post a preview of the next chapter at the bottom of every chapter. Please tell your friends to read this and tough it through The Phoenix and the Black Bird. I know it's a horrible story compared to this one and I will rewrite it when I'm done with this one…If you reviewers want me too.

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**Chapter 6: Feast of the Damned**

The War

Taylor limped towards the human settlement base. Behind him, he half dragged, half led a small band of 5 bound vampires. The humans on lookout raised their guns to them. "Halt!" One of them shouted. "Who are you?" Taylor looked up at the man. "I am Cadet Taylor Alexander Sanchez under the command of the late Major Lecos. I have captured the vampire who killed him and a few others who accompanied her." The lookout stared at him strangely, but nodded. "Very well…You may enter." The doors opened slowly and they entered the base.

The Tower

Cri, Raven, and Nightingale hadn't gotten far before they all felt a wave of dark energy wash over them. Cri turned around, forcing herself to hover in place. "Looks like we're not done…" She immediately shot forward towards the source of dark energy, Raven and Nightingale following right behind the Dhampir.

They were airborne for only a few seconds before Cri stopped suddenly. Raven and Nightingale ran into her at full speed, making all three plummet towards the ground. The stunned trio landed in a large dumpster full of crumpled old newspapers sitting in an alleyway. Cri quickly sat up and shook her head. "That was so much fun! Who wants to try falling from 75 feet this time?" Raven and Nightingale looked at her skeptically and her smile slowly died down. "Never mind…Lets go see what's up down town."

No sooner than when the trio exited the alleyway, humans fell at their feet begging them for help. Cri crouched down and put one hand on one of their shoulders. "What's the prob-…Oh…" Humans. Dozens and dozens of mindless bloodthirsty veil infected humans. Raven pulled out her communicator with a shaky hand. "We're gonna need backup…" Cri nodded her agreement. "Just call BB and Cyborg…I am pretty sure they are immune to the disease but have them wear some surgeon masks or something…Oh and tell them to bring my arm blades too." Raven nodded and flipped open her communicator, quickly relaying the message to the group.

Cri moved into a fighting stance and was about to start her assault when she spotted that same boy. He was just beyond the crowd of infected people. He looked like he was about to attack a young girl. Cri quickly turned to Raven. "Hold them off until I get back." Before Raven could say anything, Cri had jumped over the crowd and ran off towards a strangely familiar boy. Raven sighed and put up a telekinetic wall blocking the infected humans' path. 'That should hold them.' She thought to herself. She was just about to rise into the air to see what Cri was doing when a pair of cold, clawed hands grabbed her roughly from behind. She felt hot, sour breath on her neck before something bit into it, tearing out a large chunk of her flesh, and began drinking her blood.

The War

Taylor slowly led the vampires through the base. Cri quickly became bored and let her gaze wander around her surroundings. They were passing large numbers of humans, most of them extremely skinny. As they went deeper into the base she began to notice a very pungent odor. There were dead bodies in the alleyways, swarming with flies, Cri shuddered and continued walking trying desperately not to throw up. Vampires had a problem with being around long since dead things. It disturbed them deeply and made it difficult for them to function. She stumbled and nearly fell having to grab onto a nearby wall for support. The humans roared with laughter and used sharp objects to drive her back into the line. She coughed loudly and closed her eyes trying to block it all out.

The next few moments were a blur. It seemed like hours but they finally arrived at the main building and entered. As soon as the door closed, she collapsed on the floor gasping for air, she was only vaguely aware of the other vampires around her, also on their knees. "I will never again be ungrateful for having fresh air." Cri gasped between breaths. "How can you stand having all those bodies in the street? It's unsanitary and disgusting." She looked up at the human commander, her vision slowly becoming clearer. "Commander Evelyn," Taylor said saluting.

Cri blinked a few times her mind still fuzzy. 'Isn't Evelyn a girl's name?' She asked herself. Her vision finally became clear after another few moments. The commander of the army was indeed a woman! She looked like she could be a supermodel but she just seemed to have an arua about her theat reflected authority. Her uniform was pure black contrasting her pale skin, although her cheeks were flushed slightly pink. In her hand she held a small crop, a type of whip used when riding a horse. She had long wavy hair, as black as a raven's wing. Her face was long but not thin with high cheekbones. Her lips were pale and average sized and her eyebrows were very thin, but it was her eyes that caught the dhampir's attention. They were piercing but beautiful. The pearl grey iris seemed to reflect the colors blue and violet making them look like an amethyst held up to the light.

Cri froze solid. She felt fear beginning to spread its icy grip through her mind and body. This woman was staring down at her. Her gaze was more piercing than even the dhampir's. "H-hi…" She stuttered, suddenly lost for words. "W-would you mind not s-staring at me like that? It makes me f-feel like a cornered m-mouse about to be pounced on by a cat." The commander continued to stare at her for another long moment before chuckling softly. She opened her mouth to speak. Her voice had probably once been light and cheerful but the war had made it low and dangerous. "You are the first vampire brought to me who has worked up enough courage to speak." Although she spoke softly, her voice seemed to echo around the room and through the minds of everyone present as if she had shouted.

Taylor couldn't believe what he was seeing. Cri, one of the bravest people he had ever met in his entire life, was kneeling in front of a mere human, trembling. And the council members were even worse. They were face down on the ground whimpering. 'So much for "scary" vampires,' he thought to himself.

Cri grit her fangs together and looked up at Evelyn again, countering the commander's burning gaze with one of her own. Cri knew that her own trembling was probably weakening her gaze to the point of pathetic, but she wanted the commander to know that she would not cower. The dhampir and the human held each other's gaze for a full minute before Evelyn smiled. It was hard and filled with amusement, her eyes shining with an unnatural fire. "I have seen…" She began. Many vampires with wills of iron who cower and beg at my feet. I have seen vampires who were many times bigger and stronger than I. They refuse to cower but they dare not look me in the eye. What makes a scrawny little weakling like yourself any different?"

It was Cri's turn to smile. It was soft although it did show her left fang. "Because I know in my heart that if my spirit is broken, the potential future of this world would crumble into dust like the many spirits of those you have shattered during this long and painful war."

Evelyn's mouth once again curled up in a smile, and she raised one of her eyebrows, amusement written all over her face. "You're arrogant vampire…Arrogant and foolish with a smooth tongue. You remind me very much of myself when I first signed up to fight in this war. Perhaps I will let you speak your mind and reason for coming here…You are by far stronger than the bonds that hold you and the blood on your body is fake. Very clever, I will give you that." Cri's eyes widened. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Rise and discard your bonds vampire…Speak now, but be wary of what you say for these words may be your last."

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Now THAT'S a cliff hanger! Sorry again for the whole story getting deleted thing. Rread and review otherwise you will NEVER know what happens next! 


	7. The Infected

Disclaimer – I do not own Teen Titans, Eragon, BloodRayne, Deltora Quest, Soul Reaver, Dark Stalkers, The Legend of Dragoon, or any of the other things that I took little tidbits from.

I'm back with more vampire goodness with chapter 7. I can't believe how many Microsoft Word document pages I have written TOTAL so far. It's like… Whoa… and please review. I know some people who read it don't review and that kind of hurts my feelings a little because I don't feel my story is good enough…so please review.

And I also need the votes for the pairings by the next chapter. That's when the romance will start to show.

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**Chapter 7: The Infected**

The War

Cri slowly stood up, breaking the chains that held her and pulling off the muzzle. "Let me start by saying thank you. All that metal was uncomfortable." She smiled at Evelyn. "Now if you want to know why we have come here we want to put a truce up…Stop all this fighting…" Evelyn's eyes widened. This was not what she expected to hear at all. Maybe some sort of threat, plea for mercy, or even a surrender.

She slowly walked over to her desk and sat down in the chair looking a few years older. "And how do you propose we do that? You vampires still need blood. What should we do when you get hungry and come knocking on our door?" Cri smiled. "What if you have everyone give a pint/pint and a half of blood a month and leave them in a cold box outside the base? That will get us to leave you alone." Evelyn nodded. "That should work but what's in it for us? What do we get out of it?" Cri chuckled softly. "You humans…Always the greedy type…How about we vampires grow you food. This will balance things out. If that isn't enough then we can always do a little more."

Evelyn stared at her for a good five minutes. "You seem far too smart to be a vampire…Who and what are you?" Cri grinned from ear to ear, showing her sharp but slightly shorter fangs. "Me?" She asked casually. "My full name is Cri Amylissa Rayne. My codename is Agent BloodCri and I am a supernatural assassin originally working for The Brimstone Society. I was dragged into this war on an important assignment. If this dimension falls it could trigger a collapse of many many others. Like dominos. I am a dhampir. Half human, half vampire. The breed is a mix of red and yellow. I have been here for almost 3 years now, have found love with the commander of the vampire army of all people. Oh and I am expecting a child at the end of this year."

The other vampires around her looked up at her, shocked. Taylor whipped his head around and stared at his friend. Evelyn just stood there, speechless. Cri looked from one face to another, puzzled. "What?" She asked. "Did I say something wrong?"

The Tower

It only took a few seconds for Raven to start to feel faint. She was only vaguely aware of her friends arriving on the scene, of Cri shouting, of the human who attacked her being maimed by Nightingale. She tried to focus her eyes but she just couldn't seem to. She blinked her eyes and was suddenly unable to open them again. Her world went black and she knew no more.

Raven slowly came too she was lying in the hospital wing of the tower. Her neck had been half healed by Cri and was currently heavily bandaged. She slowly sat up, one hand on her head. "You're awake…Good." Raven slowly turned towards the source of the voice forcing her eyes to focus. It was Cri. She was standing in the doorway smiling. "That human severed your jugular vein…I tried to heal you but it didn't seem to work. Not for a few minutes anyway. The disease kept you from healing but it seems that your demonic blood fought it off. I'm gonna stay here and watch you for awhile just to make sure."

Raven nodded weakly. "May I have something to drink?" she asked. "And some food?" Cri nodded. "There is some on the other side of your bed. And some iced suntea…I didn't think anything hot would mix well with a shaky grip." Raven turned to the food and dove in, ravenous.

Cri walked to a chair, flipped it around backwards, and sat down watching her, resting her head and arms on its back. "Just tell me if you feel strange in any way at all. If so I will perform a few tests to see which strain you have and will treat it if possible." Raven seemed to ignore her she had already cleaned her plate and was chugging the entire glass of iced suntea. "Thirsty?" Cri asked. "That's normal after extreme blood loss…I could get you some water too if you would like…" Raven put down the empty glass nodding. "That would be nice…"

Cri left the room to fetch the ice water. Raven leaned over pressing her palms to her temples. 'Focus Raven…' she told herself. 'Just relax. Find your center. You can't loose control. Azarath, Metrion, Zinthoths. Azarath, Metrion, Zinth-' Her mind suddenly went blank as an overwhelming pain grabbed her body and started squeezing the life out of her. She tried to scream but all that came out was a choked gasp. She fell out of the bed curled up in a ball on the floor.

A few long agonizing seconds later Cri returned with a jug of ice water. "Ok Raven I have the wat- Oh my god! Raven are you ok!" The other Titans, after hearing Cri shout, charged into the room. Starfire covered her mouth with her hand to keep from gasping. "Friend Cri! What has happened to Friend Raven?" Cri turned around to look at the Titans, her expression grave. "I don't know what strain she is infected with…But I do know that it is a mutation and a powerful one at that. For it to work this quickly and actually outrun her demonic immune system. This is something I can't cure in her…Phoenix tears may save a human infected with this strain…But they will just kill a demon faster."

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Please read, review, and VOTE! I really need help with this. So please, if you read this story, review. It's harder than you think to write a story. 


	8. The Dark Gift

Disclaimer – I do not own Teen Titans, Eragon, BloodRayne, Deltora Quest, Soul Reaver, Dark Stalkers, The Legend of Dragoon, or any of the other things that I took little tidbits from.

Hi everyone I have decided to close the Raven/BB vs Raven/Robin polls. Robin won. He has already had gone through his own personal hell with his parents dying at the circus and all and another note that BB is way to immature (not to mention too short) for Raven. But hey your votes just help me know what you want. For all you know I could pair her up with plasmas…But of course I wont…That's too insane even for me. You can keep voting if you want and it MIGHT just change some stuff but who knows?

This chapter is definitely way overdone when it comes to descriptions. This is why I have to make it PG-13 rated. Please skip the over descriptive parts if you are offended by such things or if you have a weak stomach. I wouldn't want anyone throwing up on their computer and ruining it therefore becoming unable to review. Oh and please…No flames.

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**Chapter 8: The Dark Gift**

The War

Everyone in the room stared at Cri, even NovaTalim was silent. Cri looked around nervously and hid behind Taylor. "Stop staring at me…I don't like it…It makes me nervous…" Her voice held a hint of whine in it and she was shaking a little. Evelyn swallowed hard and managed to speak up. "You're going to have a child? I didn't think that was possible for vampires…" Cri shook her head inching herself back out from behind Taylor. "For vampires this is true but I'm a dhampir…" She smiled at them. "And this is one of the reasons I treasure being such a unique creature. I have said before that my mother is a dhampir but I don't think you made the connection." She smiled widely now lets get this peace treaty underway.

……………………………………………………………………

It took almost an hour but the rules were finally set: no vampire was allowed to feed off of an unwilling victim. The victim must show he/she is a willing donor for that day by wearing a pair of pants with a red patch/piece of cloth sewn onto the left thigh. The vampire may ask to feed off of them but only if it is confirmed that they are willing and ready to be bitten. All those who are above 18 and do not wish to be direct donors must give one pint of blood every two weeks to be sent to the vampire base camp. Any houkounin(1) that is discovered must wear a blue patch on their right thigh at all times and should be accompanied by their vampire master most of the time. It is the houkounin's choice what vampire is to claim them. This way they won't be forced to give blood, thereby killing any vampire who drinks it other than their master. Humans are to raise more farm animals. Any animal that a butcher receives must have most of its blood drained into a vat before they can clean it for meat. The vat will be sent to the vampire base camp along with the human donations. Vampire daywalkers were to help by growing more crops for the humans. Humans were to clean the dead things out of their streets so that the nightwalkers can repair their fort while they sleep and take turns defending it from wolves and other predators. Vampires were under no circumstance allowed to kill any human unless deliberately attacked by the human and have no other choice. Humans cannot attack a vampire unless they are attacked first. Any fight between two vampires is not of major human concern but should be reported. This rule applies the same for vampires except that a vampire can intervene instead of immediately reporting it if one of the following is happening; any type of gunfight, theft at gunpoint, attack of the elderly and or children, ganging up on one person, any type of rape or attempted rape, attempted homicide. If either race breaks this treaty and deliberately attacks the other (not counting the occasional terrorist) the other is entitled to defending themselves in the most peaceful way possible.

Evelyn looked over the paper a few times. "Are we missing anything?" Cri shrugged. "We can always add things to it later I guess…" The commander nodded, signing it. She handed the paper to Cri and she quickly signed it. "I will get the signatures of all the council members." She smiled at Evelyn. "I think Taylor deserves a promotion for helping me…Even if it can be considered treason in some way, shape, or form…" She winked at Taylor before teleporting back to the vampire base.

The Tower

Raven lay on the floor making choking sounds. The sudden burst of pain that had ravaged her mind, forcing all thoughts out of it had faded slightly, but it was nothing compared to the pain her physical body was experiencing. It had increased at least tenfold within the last twenty seconds. Her body was moving without her control. She screamed as a fresh wave of pain passed through her body, right into her soul. Her eyes rolled back up into her head and a foam formed in her mouth, mixed with blood and bile. The entire tower shook as Raven's powers destroyed one item after another, as uncontrolled as a wild beast.

Cri ran up to Raven, falling to her knees beside her. Raven's cape and leotard had turned white when Cri had purified her, but it had started fading to a grey. Cri closed her eyes, her mind spinning. She grimaced, she could only think of one way to purify the half demon without 'killing' her.

Cri's bottom lip trembled slightly and she turned to the others. "Get out of here…" The Titans just stood there looking at their fallen friend. "NOW!" Cri screamed, a red glow bleeding into her eyes. All of the Titans obeyed except Robin. "What are you going to do?" He asked, his voice held a hint of fear. "Cri dropped her eyes back to the dark sorceress. "I'm going to turn her…A veil infection of this magnitude cannot be stopped by even me…She might as well obtain powers and control along with the bloodlust that the veil disease will give her…"

Robin's eyes widened, or at least, his mask did. "I'm staying." Cri glared at him but her eyes softened upon seeing his determination. "Just don't freak out." Robin nodded and Cri lowered her face down near Raven's neck. "Forgive me..." She whispered, before sinking her fangs deeply into the pale flesh of her neck.

Robin could not hide what he was feeling, not this time. His face held both fascination and disgust. He felt bile rise in his throat and he swallowed hard trying to choke it back. He would not loose his cool, not in front of Cri, not in front of Raven. No matter how flirty Starfire got with him, he has always had a secret crush on the dark sorceress. He couldn't let her go through this alone, even if she hated him.

Cri fed for a full minute before pulling her fangs from Raven's neck. The empath's skin had changed from a pale color to white as marble. Cri licked her lips her eyes holding a deep sorrow. "I hereby call thee worthy and bestow on thee the dark gift of vampirism." Cri slit her wrist with her fingernail and held it up to Raven's mouth. She immediately clamped her mouth around the dhampir's wrist and began drinking deeply of her blood.

As one would guess, this display of a ritual disturbed robin even more. He held tightly too the doorframe too keep from fainting. There were only two reasons he kept himself from doing so. The first was his fascination and wonder with the transformation of a vampire. The second was his want to be there when Raven awakened.

Cri visibly winced. She gritted her fangs together trying to ignore the feeling of her power being drained out of her body. She held her back rigid and took a few slow deep breaths before wrenching her wrist away from Raven's mouth. The wound immediately healed but Cri held it tightly as if it was still bleeding. She looked up at Robin and nodded, giving him permission to enter.

Robin rushed into the room and fell to her knees next to Raven. He cradled the empath's head in his hands. "She will recover, right?" Cri looked down at Raven, her cape was still darkening. Her chakra gem was glowing brightly and her belt links were becoming a much darker shade of red. "Yes…She will be fine…You may stay with her now but you cannot be anywhere within ten feet of her when she awakens. I must go feed quickly…Then we shall see what type of dhampir Raven will turn out to be." Cri climbed to her feet in one graceful motion, turned on her heel, and left, leaving the stunned Robin alone with the demonic fledgling whose name is Raven.

The War

Cri soon returned, she had gotten the signatures of all 13 council members. "Now all we need to do is convince the humans that we will keep our end of the deal. Evelyn stared at her skeptically. "What about the vampires? Wont it take a little while to convince them that we will keep our end?" Cri shook her head. "They will follow what the council members say down to the letter." Evelyn sweatdropped. "That will work…Now we just need to get this notice around to every human settlement…" Cri smiled. "It's a lot to ask so lets have it be in effect for twenty years or until we think of something else that's better." Evelyn nodded. "I think it best if you and another council member accompany me. We will take horses. The trip will take all of one month to complete."

Cri nodded smiling. "Or we could always just start here at this base and once we convince them that the vampires want to make peace they can ride out on horseback and spread the word." Evelyn just stared at Cri before a smile slowly spread across her face. "As I have said…You are very smart for a vampire." Cri grinned. "Let's go talk to the people and hope that we are not cut into little pieces and then roasted over a bonfire!" Evelyn, Taylor, and the council members sweatdropped as Cri skipped out of the room.

"She is a very strange girl." Evelyn commented softly. "I'm surprised she has such emotion…Even for a human that's amazing…" NovaTalim nodded. "Yes…She has adjusted to vampirism much better than anyone else I know…It's probably due to the fact that she was born a dhampir and hasn't ever known the joys of being mortal…" Taylor nodded. "She spared my life after viciously slaughtering my team. Then made she made my life even better while also giving herself and her entire race a way to end the war…I think that there is more too her than just cunning, bloodlust, and the desire to kill…Something happened to her in her past that made her sympathetic. One doesn't just gain sympathy for others when they are born with the qualities of a vampire."

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(1) Houkounin- A type of human whose soul purpose in life is to serve the vampire who claimed them. Their blood is alot richer and sweeter than normal humans and they become immortal when claimed. They enjoy being fed off of.If another vampire drinks from anothers houkounin then their blood will act like an acid that will melt them very painfully into a puddle of goo. Very fun to wach. They have becomevery rare and femail houkonins are more common than males. There, now you know somthing that you will not use for any other time in your life.

Not that bad of a cliffie but whatever. I'm giving you guys a break. AREN'T YOU LUCKY? REVIEW! OR ELSE I WILL CURSE YOU FOREVER! MAY A WEREWOLF SHED ALL OVER YOUR NEW SOFA! MUH HA HA HA HA HA HA!


	9. Awaken

Disclaimer – I do not own Teen Titans, Eragon, BloodRayne, Deltora Quest, Soul Reaver, Dark Stalkers, The Legend of Dragoon, or any of the other things that I took little tidbits from.

Hey all, I'm back and the story must go on! I really need some suggestions for the story…I would be so happy if I could get some! Oh and I almost forgot…Baka Minku? You can keep the sporks of doom. I think that Spike my Vrral will work out well for hideously maiming my enemies…

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**Chapter 9: Awaken**

The War

Cri, Evelyn, Taylor, and the council members exited the building with smiles on all of their faces. The group quickly walked to a tall building with a balcony on it. The balcony was worn and chipped and there was a microphone on it with speakers. They climbed the spiral staircase up to the balcony. Upon reaching it Evelyn pressed a red button on the microphone pole. People began pouring out of their homes and gathered in the square under the building. It their goal seemed within reach now, Cri was already planning what she would do after she could walk around without being criticized.

Evelyn tapped the microphone and everyone quieted. "I have called you all here with the emergency line. Most of you are probably worried that I am here to tell you that our troops have been defeated and we are all doomed…But no…I have called you here to bring you wonderful news. There has been a peace treaty set up with the vampires. If you see one you are not to hurt them, and they are not to hurt you. Anyone over 18 is required to give one pint of blood every two weeks. Anyone can be a direct donor to a vampire of their choice. They must wear a red patch on the left thigh of their pants as proof. Any Houkounin found must wear a blue patch on the thigh of the right pant leg at all times. I will not go into detail on this subject at this time. In return the vampires will protect the base, grow crops, and hunt to help provide for us. This will keep a balance between the two races and if I hear of anyone disobeying this rule I will personally send them to the vampires for execution."

A loud murmur ran through the crowd. Many of them shouted words of protest. One large man forced his way up to the front, and, cupping his hands over his mouth, he shouted. "Why should we? We should kill those demons and send them back to hell!" Evelyn glared down at him. "You would think that wouldn't you? But you see…The vampires came to us wanting peace…Who are the monsters now?" The man dropped his arms but continued to glare up at the balcony. "And another thing…" Evelyn continued. "Many of you may not know this but…We were loosing the war…Badly…We would have all been killed up within another few months…The vampires showed us mercy…I say we give them a chance…" The man lowered his head and the entire crowd went silent.

Evelyn smiled. "Now I would like to have the _dhampir _who boldly came into our base and demand peace say a few words to you…Please welcome Cri Amylissa Rayne…" Cri's eyes widened as she was handed the microphone. "Hey, wait a minute! You're doing a fine job…You don't need me to speak! I didn't even know I was supposed to speak or I would have been collecting my thoughts! And another thing…I DON'T LIKE SPEAKING TO CROWDS! It is one of the few things that actually scares me."

Another murmur ran through the crowd. The microphone had been close enough to amplify everything. She sounded relatively young and her voice didn't have much of a vampiric ring to it. Cri stumbled up to the microphone as if she had been shoved. She was trembling slightly and her voice shook as she spoke. "H-hi…Honestly, I have no idea what the heck I'm going to say or what I should say." A chuckle ran through the crowd making Cri smile slightly. "I will just start by telling you how this idea began but because of the little inconvenience…" She paused for a moment to glare at Evelyn who merely smiled back. "I may suddenly go back in the story to go over a detail I missed. Now, lets begin…"

The Tower

Cri had been gone for a full hour. Robin was beginning to get worried. He had already explained it to all of the Titans in turn what had happened. The only one who still didn't understand was Starfire. She was kneeling next to Robin asking constant questions half of which was if Raven would recover, but this was not why he was worrying. Raven was beginning to stir and looked like she would wake at any minute. It had only taken a half hour for her eyeteeth to turn into fangs, her cloak to fade to a midnight blue/black, her ears to become slightly pointed. Robin had begged Starfire to leave for her own good but she refused. Raven and Starfire had developed a bond when they had switched bodies so very long ago and Star couldn't even begin to believe that Raven would ever hurt her.

A small tap on the window caught Robin and Starfire's attention. Against the glare of the sun they could make out the faint outline of Cri. Robin got up and unlocked the window and Cri jumped in smiling. For a second neither of them recognized her. For one her skin was flushed with color and even seemed to be slightly tanned. Her cheeks were rosy and her eyes were a deep ocean blue without a hint of their usual grey hue. "What? This is what I look like when I overfeed to the extreme…" She smiled, her fangs were even with her other teeth making her look human.

Starfire suddenly rushed up to Cri, her eyes glowing a dangerous green. "What have you done to friend Raven?" She was practically yelling right to Cri's face. Cri shrank back a little blinking in surprise. "Starfire…I didn't do anything to her that won't save her life…Now, if you don't mind, I need you to leave the room. Raven is about to wake and any mortals in the room may cause her to loose control.

Starfire really had no idea why Raven would loose control but if one used "Raven" and "loose control" in the same sentence it probably meant something very bad. She nodded and quickly left the room, worried sick about her friend. Robin looked up at Cri. "Are you sure Raven will recover?" Cri nodded. "It sounds to me like you might have a bit of a crush on the dark girl Robin…" He blushed slightly and looked to the ground. "Listen Robin…" Cri started. "You may want to slowly break it to Starfire…She really likes you…Oh and just to tell you, Raven will be able to express at least twice as much emotion now without worrying that the tower will explode…" Robin looked down at the empath one last time before getting up and leaving quickly, the door closing behind him. Cri smiled at the door and knelt next to Raven, waiting for her to awaken.

The War

Cri quickly explained everything, her life before entering this dimension, her arrival, and her part in the war. She told them of her plan and of her sorrow for this torn world. "So…" She finished. "I came here and managed to start a peace treaty…All of the vampires already know about it and will obey it as soon as the ok is given…I'm leaving the treaty open to revision…Talk to me if you want something changed…So…What say all of you to this?" No sooner then the words had left her mouth, the majority of the crowd began cheering. For 50 long years, they had been at war with a race that could crush them in an instant. Now they could walk through the streets among their fellow humans and even vampires without worry.

Cri smiled and raised both of her hands for silence. The cheering died down and she dropped her hands. "The treaty will be open for reading in the town square. We need people to copy the treaty, go to the other human base camps, and spread the good news. I know this is hard to believe for some of you older people who have been fighting your whole lives but rest assured. We will not break our end of the treaty unless you break yours…Now…I think a celebration is in order…From 10:00pm to midnight tonight I will arrange a party at La Rosa Rossa. All humans are welcome. There will be food and drink there in abundance." She smiled at the crowd. "If your family is starving I suggest you attend. Everything is free." With that comment Cri turned around and walked to the other vampires. "Now I bid thee farewell in hopes I will see you again." She handed the microphone back to Evelyn and teleported herself and the council members back to the base. They had a lot of planning to do.

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Review! I need some encouragement here! 


	10. Bloodlust

Disclaimer – I do not own Teen Titans, Eragon, BloodRayne, Deltora Quest, Soul Reaver, Dark Stalkers, The Legend of Dragoon, or any of the other things that I took little tidbits from.

My English teacher thinks that I shouldn't turn Raven into a dhampir…HOW CRAZY IS THAT? Warning: there is fluff in this chapter. It is in 'The War' but I assure you, Cri and Raven are not falling in love and will not fall in love…Vampire sires will often hold their fledglings and treat them like their own children stroking their hair and maybe a kiss on the head. Under no circumstance does this mean Cri is being flirty with Raven…Thank you…

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**Chapter 10: Bloodlust**

The Tower  
  
Cri smiled, she couldn't help it, Raven was going to be her first fledgling and she couldn't wait for her to awaken. Cri put one hand on the empath's cheek examining her new features. She immediately pulled her hand back as Raven's eyes started to flutter and, slowly, open. Cri smiled down at the gothic Titan. "How do you feel Raven?" Raven slowly sat up. Suddenly dumbfounded by how the world seemed to have changed. It was like she had been looking through a dark veil her whole life and it had been suddenly lifted. She took a moment to gaze in awe at her surroundings before responding to Cri's question. "T-thirsty…More specifically my throat is burning and dry and my entire body feels cold…" Cri nodded. "That's understandable but what I meant was, how do you feel? Emotion wise? She blinked a few times and Cri noticed that her eyes were a much deeper shade of amethyst, slightly dulled from hunger. "I…I don't know…" Cri nodded. "That's also normal…"

Raven looked up at Cri. The dhampir was smiling warmly but her eyes held a deep sorrow. "First things first." She said. "Let's take care of that thirst…" Raven continued to stare at her, puzzled. "What do you mean Cri?" Her voice was shaking slightly. Something was very wrong. Cri said nothing but she unclasped one of her gauntlets. "Forgive me Raven…It was the only way I could save your mind…Your control…Your life as it is now…"

Before Raven could reply, Cri pressed her wrist into the empath's mouth, her fangs cutting into the dhampir's wrist. A split second of realization was all Raven got before she was suddenly lost in the honey like taste of blood. She moaned softly closing her eyes and pressed Cri's wrist into her mouth. Raven bit down harder drinking deeply. The blood was like liquid candy cooling her aching throat and coating it nicely while spreading warmth throughout her body the second it hit her stomach.

Raven did not know how long she sat there basking in the warmth that is reserved only for a vampire, when the wrist was wrenched out of her mouth. Cri held her wrist tightly, watching the wound heal. She quickly looked back up at Raven who was still in the daze that was a satisfied bloodlust. It only took Raven a split second to come to her senses. "W-what have you done to me Cri?" She whispered looking down at her hands. Tears formed in her eyes leaving shining trails down her cheeks. She licked her lips and shivered tasting the blood that had been left on them. Cri swallowed hard, her skin back to its normal color. "It would have happened anyway…The disease…It would have eaten your mind…I thought that…It would have been better to get control and powers along with keeping your mind instead of merely becoming a monster…"

The room was silent for a long time, Raven crying quietly, Cri lost for words. After what seemed like an eternity Raven looked up at her maker, trying to dry her tears. "I thank you for your kind thoughts but…I'm not sure that turning into a monster and being unaware of what your doing is any worse than this…" Cri visibly winced. She had hoped Raven would not think like this. "There may be a cure…But I don't know what it is…For now you must live with this…Please Raven…The Titans need you more than ever now…" Raven turned towards Cri, tears running down her cheeks again. The sireling fell onto her makers shoulder crying loudly now and her maker wrapped her cape around her sireling in hopes it would make her feel safer.

The War

The party had been a blast. The temptation of good food and drink had attracted humans from miles around. There was much feasting and dancing. As the clock struck midnight Cri, and the majority of the other magic using vampires, put on a wondrous display of sparks and light in the sky that lit up the area for miles around.

Cri lounged in a chair soon after the party had finished. Now she was looking forward to a nice quiet night alone with Soto. She hoped that they would be able to watch a movie or at least have him hear how she had convinced the humans to start a peace treaty before she felt too tired to keep her eyes open.

She was beginning to doze off when a pair of gentle hands wrapped themselves around her neck and shoulders and she felt a soft kiss on her cheek. "Hi Soto…I was worried you wouldn't make it." He smiled. "I always keep my promises." He whispered in her ear. She stood and smiled at him. He always knew how to make her feel better no matter what was going on. She wrapped her arms around him and nuzzled his cheek before letting go and walking away. "Unfortunately your just a little late and I have had a very long day…I will tell you the entire story in the morning ok Soto?"

He put on a pouty face for a second before it broke into a grin. "Alright Cri I understand…It's been a long day for me too…I almost died of worry!" Cri giggled softly. "But you're immortal…" He shrugged and followed her. "If anything happened to you I would die…" Cri couldn't help but smile wider. She kicked off her shoes and climbed into her bed not bothering to change her cloths. Soto lay down next to her holding her in his arms. Cri drifted off to sleep that night feeling at peace with the world content in her love's arms, unaware that someone was watching her, plotting their next move.

The Tower

Cri held Raven for what seemed like an eternity. She apologized many times over murmuring words of comfort to the demoness. Slowly Ravens crying subsided and she took a slow shaky breath. Cri slowly pulled away at her holding her shoulders at arms length. "You okay now?" She asked her voice full of concern. Raven wiped her eyes with the back of her sleeve nodding. "Good," Cri replied. "Lets go see the other Titans…You will be just fine…"

Cri helped the empath to her feet and led her into the living room. Immediately everyone looked up. Beastboy and Cyborg were sitting on the couch actually not playing video games for once, Starfire was in the kitchen making some sort of pudding, and Robin was pacing the room. The second they walked in everyone froze for a few seconds. "Guys…" Cri said with a weak smile. "Raven is going to be just fine…But take it easy on her ok? Don't get too close she is still adapting…"

Raven quickly pulled her hood up over her head, feeling everyone's gazes shift to her. She kept her head down as she walked to the couch her eyes still filled with unshed tears. She sat down in between Cyborg and Beastboy keeping her cape tightly wrapped around herself.

Beastboy hesitated for a moment before laying a hand on the empath's shoulder. Her bloodlust suddenly spiked and her ears filled with the sound of his heart beating. She could almost taste his blood and she felt her fangs extend slightly in anticipation. Her body went rigid and she shied away closing her mouth tightly. He immediately pulled his hand away, hoping he didn't offend her. Raven took a deep breath. "I-I'm sorry Beastboy…J-just don't touch me." Beastboy nodded and Spike walked up to Raven licking her face. For some reason his closeness didn't activate her bloodlust and she managed a genuine smile. "That's why I keep him Raven…Cri said reading her mind. "A bloodlust won't activate to anything cold blooded…Unless you're half starved to death of course…" Beastboy turned a shade paler and shifted his body composition to that of something cold blooded and Cyborg inched away. Raven didn't seem to notice and she just continued to sit there in her own thoughts.

Cri walked over and leaned over the back of the couch and put one hand on Raven's shoulder. "I really am sorry…I didn't know what else to do…" Raven raised one hand to silence her. "I understand Cri…I'm just a little depressed at the moment…" Cri nodded. "I understand Rae…It's getting late…We should all get some sleep…I'm going to go tuck Nightingale in…" Raven nodded and Cri walked away, Spike on her heels.

The living room slowly cleared out until Robin and Raven were the only ones still up. He walked over to the dark girl and sat down next to her, looking at her with eyes full of concern. "Raven?" She flinches and shrinks away from him letting her hood drop down over her face more. "Don't look at me Robin…Cri…After she turned me she gave me blood…I…I liked it Robin…I wanted more…There is this little voice in my head telling me to just grab you and rip you apart…To feed until I can't drink anymore…" She looked up at him, her eyes brimming with tears. "Please Robin…Just go…I don't want to hurt you…" He bowed his head and quickly stood. "Then at least let me walk you to your room." Raven seemed puzzled for a moment but nodded. "I would like that…" Without another word the dark girl rose to her feet and let the boy wonder lead her to her room. They bid each other goodnight as the door closed sealing the two off from each other.

Raven turned and walked into her own room. "Hey Raven…" Raven jumped and scanned her room quickly finding Cri sitting in a chair near her bed. She had a book open and she seemed to be reading "I'm gonna stay here all night just to make sure you don't go out in your sleep and attack people…It's very common among fledglings." Raven hesitated before walking into her room. She looked around a nervous expression on her face. "Won't you get tired?" Cri shook her head. "I usually only sleep about 3 nights a week so I will be fine…I have a bad case of insomnia…" Raven cringed and pulled off her cloak tossing it on a chair before climbing under the bedcovers. "Night Rae…" Cri glanced over at her smiling. "Night Cri…" Raven closed her eyes and it was only a matter of seconds before she was fast asleep tormented by her dreams.

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Now review or else I will poke you for the rest of eternity! 


	11. The Vampire's Kiss

Disclaimer – I do not own Teen Titans, Eragon, BloodRayne, Deltora Quest, Soul Reaver, Dark Stalkers, The Legend of Dragoon, or any of the other things that I took little tidbits from.

Hi there! I'm back with another chapter. Personally I'm considering stopping the story for the summer if I don't start getting some reviews. This story is twice as good as the original and people review it less. Do you know how hard it is to write a story? At least during the school year I'm getting a grade for it. This summer the only thing that will keep me going is reviews. So please show me if you care or not and tell me if you want me to continue throughout the summer.

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**Chapter 11: The Vampire's Kiss**

The Tower

Raven woke up the next morning with a splitting headache and a large bump on the right side of her head. "Morning." Cri said cheerfully. "Sorry about the headache…I had to hit you over the head with a lead pipe to keep you from leaving and going out to feed unwillingly. Don't worry though…I won't have to do it again. Your 'beast' got the message."

Raven groaned and pressed her palms into her temples. Cri nudged the dark girl softly, exposing her wrist to her. "You hungry?" Raven seemed to cringe for a moment before nodding. She shakily brought Cri's wrist to her mouth and bit down. Her blood was just as sweet as the last time Raven fed.

Cri let her feed for a good minute before tugging her wrist softly, whispering in her ear. "That's enough Raven." It was Raven who surprised Cri who, after a few seconds, obeyed Cri's request. Cri nodded her approval. "Excellent display of control. It usually takes a full two months for a fledgling to gain enough self control to pull away of their own free will or when they are asked." Raven smiled weakly. At least she had done something right.

Cri left for her room to get an hour or two of sleep before starting the day. Raven slowly walked down stairs. As she entered the main room the rest of the Titans immediately stopped what they were doing to stare at her. The empath quickly pulled up her hood to avoid their stares and, out of habit, began making her morning tea. She had already mixed some honey inside her tea when she realized she wasn't at all thirsty. She shrugged and sat down with the steaming mug just enjoying its warmth.

Robin cleared his throat loudly. "Well…It seems you're feeling better…" Raven arched an eyebrow looking straight at him. Even though she wasn't showing it, she was still amazed at how much more detailed the entire world had become. "What do you mean Robin?" He faltered and smiled sheepishly. "I think everyone herd it when Cri knocked you over the head with that pipe…It sounded…Painful…" Raven shrugged. "I don't remember…" Cyborg nodded. "I'm surprised you even remember your own name. Cri broke the pipe when she hit you…" He walked over to the counter and picked up a piece of broken pipe and set it on the table. It had to have been a half to ¾ of an inch thick. Raven involuntarily rubbed the bump on her head. "I see…"

Raven finally took a sip of her tea. She stared at it for a moment before smiling and taking another. 'Vampires must have a more sensitive sense of taste…Figures…' Raven thought to herself. She quickly drained her mug and floated over to the couch before settling down with a mystery book Cri had loaned her.

After about 2 and a half hours, Cri came into the common room, her eyes a little bit more sunken than usual. She smiled sweetly, regardless of her tiredness and sat down next to Raven glancing at the book cover. "The Ruby Raven? How ironic that a girl named Raven would read it…" Raven peered over the top of the book glaring at her but Cri didn't even seem to notice. "It's a good book at that. I would recommend it to anyone who likes mysteries that the killer can't be identified until the end." Raven raised her eyebrows. "So the killer is in disguise…" Cri nodded.

Cri's expression turned serious and she looked Raven straight in the eye "Night and I are going out to feed tonight and I need to take you with us." Raven started to object but Cri raised her hand to silence her. "You don't really have a choice Rae…I'm sorry but I don't know how long you will be stuck like this so you have to learn the basics before I have to go back to the war. Raven lowered her head and Cri wrapped her cape around the dark girl sending a wave of comfort and security over her. "Hey, don't worry, everything will be alright…" Raven bit her lip. "But…What if there is no cure?" Cri thought for a moment. "Then you will never have to worry about blowing up the city again…" Raven looked surprised for a moment before realizing Cri was right. She felt her emotions had weakened and she could actually feel them without blowing something up. She smiled. "At least there is an upside to this."

The War

Cri woke up the next morning with a splitting headache and a very high bloodlust. The party had worn down her endurance and now she was feeling the effects. She groaned and slowly sat up pressing her palms to her temples. In an instant Soto was awake and holding her in his arms. "Are you alright Cri?" She smiled and nodded. "Just a headache…" Soto nodded and got up leaving the room. He returned a few minutes later with a large glass of blood. He offered it to her and she took it gratefully and chugged it. "Thanks…" She said wiping her mouth. "That helped my headache a lot."

After a quick shower and a breakfast of eggs and bacon, she walked outside. She took a deep breath of the cool air smiling. She loved dusk. Everything was still warm from the heat of the sun but the air had already cooled down. She jumped up onto the wall and from there jumped halfway up the search tower and began climbing. She quickly reached the top, dismissing the guard so he could feed and stretch his muscles.

Cri quickly sat down in his chair gazing across the landscape. "So peaceful…" She said to no one in particular. She gazed across the landscape before her smile dropped off. She stood up and squinted into the distance, her night vision activating. "Who…" Suddenly her eyes widened and she pressed the alarm button. She jumped out of the guard tower and confronted the one who approached her. It was a man. His name was Alkoroth He had to be at least 7 feet tall and his body was wide. His armor was black with silver and gold trim. His helmet resembled the skull of a great dragon. His cape flapped behind him as he rode his dark unicorn, adorned in armor, towards the base. He let out a primal roar and unsheathed his sword. It was a gold ruined black bastard sword with silver trim. Cri smiled at him. She knew what this man was. He was a paladin and a slayer, but he wasn't human. His mother was a half elf and his father was a shape-shifting dragon. He was one of the most powerful beings in this dimension. And Cri feared him.

He skidded to a stop in front of her and dismounted. Most of his face was hidden in shadow but from what she could see his eyes were glowing a brilliant emerald green and his skin was a sickly grey color. He glared down at her his glowing eyes burned into hers. "Greetings lady Cri…" His voice was deep and ominous. "What do you want?" She said. His mouth turned up into a smirk and she noted that most of his teeth were sharp as if he ate only meat. "I just wanted to say what a great job you did ending the war…It was a rather clever treaty…I myself couldn't have done better." His words startled Cri and she narrowed her eyes. "Alright…What do you want?" He chuckled. "Nothing but for you to join The Peacekeepers…" Cri almost laughed but stopped herself when she saw how serious he was. "I…I will think about it…"

Alkoroth nodded and unclasped his helmet slowly lifting it off his head. Cri stared at him in shock. Half of it was that Alkoroth NEVER took off his helmet, second was his features. His face was surprisingly round and flawless. As she had guessed, his skin was ashen grey. If she squinted she could see that his skin was made up of billions of tiny scales. His eyes were a shocking green, his pupils slit vertically like a snake. A stripe like a tiger started at his eyes and streaked down his cheeks giving him a predatory look. His ears were pointed and extended up back out of his hair like a pair of horns. And his hair. His hair was raven black, streaked with metallic sliver highlights.

Cri just stared at him for what seemed like hours. She was woken from her trance upon hearing the click of a crossbow's safety going off. She turned waving her hands. "Don't shoot! He isn't here to make trouble!." They looked at her skeptically for a moment before lowering their weapons." She nodded at them and turned back to Alkoroth. She was surprised to see him riding off in the distance his cape flapping in the wind.

Alkoroth wasn't sure if Cri would accept or not. If she accepted it would make his spying job that much easier…If she refused…Well…He would have no choice but to kill her as quickly as possible. He kicked his unicorn making it run faster. 'She better hurry…The council doesn't have much patience when it comes to recruiting new members.'

The Tower

That night Cri led both Raven and Nightingale outside. Cri took a deep breath of the cool night air. She loved going out to hunt around this time. She motioned for them all to gather around the coastline. Cri floated in the air without her wings. She picked Nightingale up smiling. "Let's go…" She took off across the river Raven hot on her tail.

Raven cupped her hands over her mouth shouting. "Cri, I didn't know you could fly without your wings!" She smiled back at the dark girl. "They take less energy to fly with and I am more stable when I fly without them." Raven nodded. That made sense. They landed in an alleyway a few minutes later. "I will teach you how to feed now…Although you still need to avoid humans and animals for now you will soon be fully developed and you will be able to do what you want."

Cri snuck off into the shadows. Her steps were very light and she moved with an incredibly fast grace that made her seem to flicker in and out of the shadows. Nightingale followed her imitating the power almost perfectly. Raven quickly followed them, rather clumsy in her movements compared to the more experienced dhampirs.

Cri soon spied a small gang. They were laughing, pushing a boy who was half their size between them. Cri nodded at Raven to stay put and she and Nightingale sneaked off. Cri seemingly appeared behind the first man and kicked the back of his knees hitting him on the head as he fell to the ground. Nightingale hit another over the head with a pipe. The remaining two looked down at their fallen friends then quickly up and around searching for the attackers. The man whom they were picking on quickly fled down the alleyway and hid behind a dumpster. He didn't see the 'finale' but Raven did. Cri and Night pinned the two on their stomachs and they were drinking their blood before the thugs even knew what was going on.

The thugs soon passed out from blood loss and Cri climbed to her feet licking her lips. Nightingale followed her example but had to kick the thug to keep him knocked out. It seemed that Night could not drink as much blood as her mother even if she was more of a vampire than she was.

Raven stood in shock. Half of her wanted to run and hide. The other half wanted to join Cri and drink the rich, sweet smelling, humans' blood. The empath leaned heavily against the wall for support. She had seen enough. Cri walked over to her. "They will be fine in the morning…" Raven nodded and turned her back to leave. Cri placed a hand on her shoulder. "Here…" Cri held out her wrist to Raven wincing slightly as the dark girl sank her fangs into the dhampir's wrist. Cri waited patiently for her to finish before she walked off again motioning for them to follow. "You just have to remember to avoid the jugular and you will be fine." Cri smiled at Raven. "Now you can defend the city without fearing most injury." Raven nodded numbly. "I'm not sure controlling a bloodlust is easier than controlling my emotions…" Cri shrugged. "Stay well fed and you won't ever have to worry about loosing control."

They trio stayed out for a few hours, searching for and destroying infected humans. Along the way Cri taught Raven how to use her strength and speed to her advantage and how to avoid letting it be used against her. She also explained how each vampire has a 'dark gift' and how each one is slightly different. She taught Raven how to use her aura sense, a type of thermal vision mixed with the ability to show a vampire to see how healthy a target is and if they are aware that the vampire is there or not.

After a very long night, the dhampiric trio returned to Titan's Tower. They bid each other goodnight and went their separate ways hoping to get at least a few hours sleep before the rising of the sun. Unfortunately for them, this would not be the way things went. They were just settling down in their beds when an explosion shook the city and the Titans Tower alarm system blared, shattering the silence. It was a matter of minutes before every Titan, including Spike and Nightingale, had gathered in the living room. "Dude, what's going on?" Beastboy asked. Robin looked on the monitor screen typing in a few commands. "It seems that a large part of a main subway tunnel has exploded. Titans GO!"

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I'm so evil aren't I? Leaving you on a cliff hanger like that…evil laugh Remember, please review. I need your help if you want me to continue this story and not just stop over the summer which is a VERY long time… 


	12. Red Wine

Disclaimer – I do not own Teen Titans, Eragon, BloodRayne, Deltora Quest, Soul Reaver, Dark Stalkers, The Legend of Dragoon, or any of the other things that I took little tidbits from.

Hi everyone! This is your LAST CHANCE to vote and tell me you want me to continue. I will NOT be posting any more chapters after this IF no one votes. The story will then resume when school starts again. I JUST NEED A FEW YES'S AND THEN I WILL KEEP UP THE STORY! But seriously…Reviews one of the few things that keep me writing…If I don't get enough votes and I feel like writing one day I MIGHT post another chapter but more likely I will go back and redo The Phoenix and the Black Bird so it is not as repetitive. I may also go back and fix some of the other chapters in THIS story and fix some of my oneshots. I will do this anyway if you vote yes but I will do it a lot faster the more reviews I get.

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Chapter 12: Red Wine**

The War

Cri quickly mounted her horse and rode off. The only way she could find Alkoroth is to follow the faint trail of magic left behind by his dark unicorn. She had no idea where the Peacekeepers Stronghold was, and neither did anyone else she had talked to inside the human or vampiric base camp. It puzzled her that so few people had even known it existed. 'It must be a far better guarded secret than I originally presumed it to be.' She thought silently to herself. 'I better make haste, this trail of magic is fading fast, and I will never find the base if the trail completely fades before I get there.'

After a full hour of riding, Cri slowly approached the Peacekeepers Stronghold. She had decided to accept their offer but she would need to tell them that she wouldn't be able to actually 'help' with any of their missions until her child was born. She laid her hand softly on her stomach. She was beginning to show signs of pregnancy and she knew she could no longer fight. She sighed heavily. 'I hope they understand…' She lifted the heavy door knocker and dropped it a few times. After a few moments, the door swung inward without a sound and she entered the stronghold, the doors shutting loudly behind her.

The Tower

The Titans, accompanied by Taylor, Spike, and Nightingale, rushed to the T-Car. Of course, there wasn't enough room for all of them, Cyborg had promised to put in more seats to make it more like an SUV. Cri had cringed at the thought. Raven had volunteered to teleport anyone who couldn't fit inside the T-Car and soon they were all on their way to the scene of the crime. They quickly arrived on the scene, regrouping within a few minutes after arrival. Robin ran up to the chief of police. "What's the problem?" He asked quickly. The chief of police tuned to him. "One of those vampires got into the tunnel and destroyed the gas main!"

Cri walked silently up to the guard her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Those vampire zombies' minds are far too rotted away to be able to do anything other than walk and feed. It's probably a full blooded daywalker." The chief of police looked at her strangely. "How would you know? Are you an expert or something?" Cri smiled sweetly at him, her fangs shining. "You could say I'm an expert of sorts. I am a dhampiric warrior and a daywalker from birth and my recommendation is that you have your men back off before they get seriously hurt." The chief's eyes widened and he backed up slowly immediately calling off his men with a small walkie-talkie.

Cri motioned to Raven. "Alright…Time to learn something new. Close your eyes and focus on seeing thermal heat and a person's aura. This is called aura sense and will allow you too see in the dark." Raven shrugged and did as she was told. "Now open your eyes and if you're seeing thermal glowing around everyone's body we can go…If you don't then try again until you do." It took Raven a few tries but after her fourth try she opened her eyes and gasped. Everything seemed to be glowing. Cri nodded and smiled. "Let's go." She quickly entered the dark tunnel with Raven and Spike following close behind her.

It didn't take long to find the pile of rubble. Cri examined it closely. "There is something inside of it." Cri turned to Raven. The dark girl could easily see her aura was a deep red/orange. "We should excavate carefully…We might trigger another collapse." The empath nodded. "Tell me which rocks to move."

Over a period of the next half hour Spike, Cri and Raven slowly moved the larger of the rubble. A small amount of movement caught Cri's attention and she watched the rubble carefully. A figure rose up, dust cascading down from it. The trio just stared at the figure for a moment before Cri ran up and embraced it tightly. "Soto! You made it! I missed you so much!" The figure returned Cri's embrace, his deep black aura wrapping around her. "Let's go back to the tower then you can tell me what happened." Cri motioned for Spike and Raven to follow her and began walking down the tunnel to the exit, hand in hand with her husband.

Soto was tackled to the ground the second he exited the tunnel. The culprit was Nightingale. "Yay! Daddy! You're here! You're here! I missed you so much daddy! Can we play a game soon? Huh? Can we!" The Titans had never seen this side of Nightingale before. It reminded them of when Cyborg dared Cri to drink 3 Red Bulls in one sitting. Oh none of them would forget that chaotic day. There are still burn marks on the walls from that particular incident.

Soto chuckled softly and sat up slowly. He climbed to his feet smiling down at Nightingale. The young girl immediately grabbed onto his leg and sat on his foot refusing to let go. To the Titans, this newcomer looked like their worst nightmare come to life. He had short ebony black hair and bleach white skin. He was dressed completely in black and dark grey making him look like someone out of a black and white movie. In fact that the only part of his body that had any color was his eyes which were a deep crimson that seemed to burn with hellfire. "Good evening…I have looked forward to meeting you all from the day that Cri arrived. She has told so many things about you that I wish to ask you about." He smiled, showing a pair of lethal ivory white fangs. "Oh yes…I have been looking forward to this."

The War

Cri winced as the doors shut. Something like that happening in a movie was usually a bad sign. Cri looked around activating her Aura sense. She could see figures around her but of course couldn't see detail. She deactivated it just as a spotlight fell upon her. She called out into the darkness. "Hello? I was asked to join the peacekeepers? I'm here to accept…" Before she could finish three cloaked figures entered the spotlight out of the darkness. "Welcome Cri…We have been expecting you. We hope you can begin helping us as soon as you finish the training session…"

Cri blushed slightly. "Well…I'm not gonna be able to start the training session any time soon…You see…I'm expecting a child in a few months…" As she finished her cheeks were burning and she looked down at her feet. The hooded figures seemed surprised and one took a small step back. "I know I know…You were expecting me to start immediately…But I was pregnant even before you offered. I'm only accepting because I know that the council of the peacekeepers doesn't like to wait. So…" One of the hooded figures raised its hand to silence her. "We understand how you feel young dhampir…But as soon as you feel you can start the training session we suggest you do. This will be difficult explaining to the council but I believe that this will pose no hindrance to our plans in the future. You are dismissed."

Cri smiled and bowed slightly to the hooded figures. "I thank you for your kindness and I promise that I will train hard as soon as I can. After which I would like to spend time with my baby before reviewing the progress of the laws passed and then retiring to my bed." She smiled weakly. "This is going to be a rough year."

Cri quickly rode back to the vampire base camp. No sooner had she walked inside the gates that Soto embraced her. "Hello my little dhampir. How did it go?" Cri smiled and kneed him in the stomach bringing one of her armblades to the back of his neck, nibbling at it affectionately. "It went fine…They are cutting me a few months until I have recovered." Soto swept her off her feet in one quick movement and kissed her softly on the forehead. "That's good news my love. Come, we must check on these human laws you have passed, although I have never really understood human politics." Cri shrugged, "neither do I. I just wrote a bunch of rules down on a piece of paper and used big important words…That seemed to do the trick." They both chuckled softly before Soto brought her inside his main quarters to begin the long and boring task of reviewing the progress of the new passed law.

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REMEMBER TO VOTE! THIS IS THE THRID CHAPTER I HAVE WARNED YOU PEOPLE ABOUT ME THINKING ABOUT STOPPING THIS STORY AND I HAVE NOT GOTTEN ONE VOTE! THIS IS NOT A GOOD SIGN! SO PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE VOTE! 


	13. Demons of the Past

Disclaimer – I do not own Teen Titans, Eragon, BloodRayne, Deltora Quest, Soul Reaver, Dark Stalkers, The Legend of Dragoon, or any of the other things that I took little tidbits from.

I willemail that list of name rankings and some 'lost information' about what happened to Slade upon request…Remember this is made to be funny. Whenever I read it I remember just how evil and sadistic I am…I have also been toying with the idea of bringing Terra into the picture...This is a Rae/Rob fic so if i bring Terra back there will be no Raven, BB, Terra conflict. (However there will be a Raven, Starfire, Robin conflict no matter who comes into the picture...) Once again I will say that in no point in time in this fic will Cri fall in love with Raven or visa versa. They have more of a mother/daughter relationship much like Batman and Robin do...Only with blood...Lots of yummy blood...

**_WARNING:_** Sad chapter. If you don't like tragic events dont read "20 Years ago (Cri's Dream)." It explains how her father died. Remember everyone Xenon's killer has already been introduced...When you review give me your guesses...(Note to Darkmoon: Your not allowed to guess because I told you already when asking for story opinions because you are like the best writer ever.((Like Anne Rice but less descriptions.)) )

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****Chapter 13: Demons of the Past**

The Tower

The Titans shrank back. Soto was scaring them. "For example…" He began. "How do you maintain peace between humans and vampires so easily?" Cri tapped Soto on the shoulder softly. "They will probably answer after you stop scaring them." Soto smiled sheepishly. "Sorry…Habit…" Cri giggled softly. "It's alright…I forgive you…" Soto smiled wider at her and leaned over kissing her softly on the cheek. "EEEEWWWW!" The couple both immediately looked down at Nightingale, smiling. "Now Nightingale…Don't be rude…" She put on a pouty face and hugged Soto's leg tighter.

Soto smiled at Cri again but his smile disappeared when he saw Raven. "Who is this?" Cri's face turned serious. "She is my fledgling…I didn't have a choice…You see Soto…The veil is here…" Raven wasn't sure if the shock on Soto's face was from the fact that the veil was here or the fact that Cri had created a fledgling. Cri stared at Soto strangely. "What? Do I have something on my face?"

The War   
  
Cri and Soto sat for hours reviewing progress. Many of the base camps had refused the law at first then accepted it after they had been assured it was the only way. The rest of them were still refusing to accept the law. Cri rubbed her temples. "What happens if the humans decide to either reject the law permanently or break their end?" Soto looked at her, a very serious expression on his face. "Then we have no choice but to defend ourselves."

It took a full 4 hours to finish reviewing the law's progress but they finally finished. Cri sighed deeply. "Took long enough…" Soto smiled at her. "I'm surprised your attention span lasted long enough to complete this." Cri scoffed at him. "Oh and I suppose you weren't wishing you were doing something else?" He just smiled at her. "Perhaps now would be the best time to relax." He pulled her close to him. "Enjoy this moment alone while it lasts." Cri's face softened and she rested her head against her love's chest, just content to be in his arms. Cri soon fell into a restless sleep, tormented by dreams of her past.

_20 Years ago (Cri's Dream)_

Some Island off the Coast of Japan

Xenon could barely stand. He was covered in injuries and his left kneecap was broken. A young Cri hid behind him, shaking violently out of pure terror. He wanted to give up but he couldn't let this monster get to his daughter. A man was standing in front of them in the shadows. "Will you surrender?" The man said in a deep voice. His eyes were hidden under the hood of his cloak but from his attire you could tell he was a pyromancer. "I will never let you take my daughter away from me!" Xenon yelled back. "Ever!" The man scowled and raised his hands. "Pity…Such a waste…A fireball formed in his hands and he launched it straight at Xenon. He only had enough time to turn his back to the fire and wrap his arms around his daughter when it struck him, sending them both flying.

Xenon landed on his back and skidded to a halt, Cri safe in his strong arms. "Daddy I'm scared!" She cried hugging her father tightly. Xenon forced a smile and gently pushed his daughter off of him. "It's alright Little One…Go hide…Daddy will take care of this…" Cri nodded at her father and took shelter behind a rocky pillar. Xenon slowly climbed to his feet, glaring at the hooded pyromancer. "I'm not afraid of you…Now then…Let's see whose fire is stronger." Xenon charged up the most powerful fireball he could muster and the pyromancer copied him in this same fashion. The two loosed their fireballs at the same time and they collided in mid air sending a shockwave 'round the island burning all the vegetation.

Cri covered her face and turned her back to the heat wave. She managed to get by with only a few minor burns but her father wasn't so lucky. He was lying on the ground only half conscious, burns covering most of his body. The pyromancer rose into the air, his eyes glowing red under the hood. "Now you die!" He summoned enormous amounts of scalding energy into his hands and blasted it down at Xenon in a deadly stream. Xenon let out a piercing scream pf pure agony and Cri felt tears well up in her eyes. "Daddy…" She whispered silent tears rolling down her pale round cheeks.

Suddenly Cri's sorrow turned to a burning rage that filled her entire body. Her powers and abilities spiked and her eyes began to glow. "DADDY!" She screamed running out. The pyromancer was so shocked by the girl's sudden appearance his fire stream wavered and stopped. "Well well well…Daddy's little girl has finally come out to play…" He smiled down at her like a lion would at a cornered rabbit. "Leave daddy alone!" She yelled up at him tears continuing to pour down her cheeks. The pyromancer laughed. "And what will you do if I don't?" He taunted her by throwing another fireball down at the now unconscious Xenon. Upon seeing this Cri snapped. Although she was young she held great power. She summoned as much power as she could muster into her small hands and released it in a blast of pure white hot energy, knocking the pyromancer out cold, and blasting him a half mile out to sea.

Cri stared in amazement at her hands before she fell to her knees panting. She grimaced and forced herself up onto her feet. She walked slowly over to her father and kneeled down beside him, holding his head in her arms. "Cri…" Xenon said weakly, reaching up to touch the young girl's cheek. "Take care of your mother for me alright? Be strong for me my little one." Xenon took a small bag from his belt and handed it to her. "This is for you…A final gift…"

Regardless of how young she currently was, Cri fully understood the concept of death. And she also fully understood the meaning of her father's final words. "Please…Please don't leave me…I need you daddy! I love you…" Xenon smiled up at the girl which quickly turned into a grimace of pain. "Daddy…" Her eyes filled with tears again and she lowered her head. "I promise…" Xenon smiled at her one last time before his eyes closed and he died in his daughter's arms.

_Now_

The War

Cri woke in a cold sweat and bolted upright, tears streaming down her cheeks. She took a deep breath and jumped as Soto wrapped his arms around her. "Are you all right Cri?" He asked his voice full of concern. "I have never seen you shed a tear for as long as you have been in this dimension." Cri shook her head, drying her tears. "It was nothing Soto…Just a horrible dream reminding me of an event in my past…" He squeezed her tighter and rubbed his cheek in her hair. Cri couldn't help but smile. She felt extremely lucky to have someone like Soto to stand by her and help her when she needed it.

She snuggled further into her love's arms and closed her eyes basking in his warmth. He always seemed to have the smell of leather and this other icy cool smell that she could not describe. Sort of like the sensation you get when you eat a mint. She sighed contentedly and rested her head in the crook of his neck. She was glad he was there…And she hoped they could share eternity with each other. Unfortunately for her…Someone had other plans…

The Tower

Soto shook his head. "I'm sorry Cri…I just can't believe it…The Veil? A fledgling? It's just a little surprising that's all" Cri smiled knowingly. "Maybe, but Raven has proven to be an excellent fledgling. She is gaining her powers at a steady rate and seems to have already gotten over the initial shock of vampirism…Now…Take note that I turned her less than two days ago. Soto just stared at her for a moment before smiling. "A quick learner indeed. It took one of my fledglings two months before she fully accepted her own vampirism…"

It was a few minutes but the Titans finally managed to get back to the tower with their new guest. The police chief had been relentless with his questioning and hadn't allowed them to leave for some time. Finally Cri turned to him and growled her irises glowing blue. This was enough to make the chief back off and hide behind a patrol car for protection.

Finally, one by one, the Titans were allowed to go to bed. Soto was to sleep with Cri because there was no other room, they were married or the vampire equivalent, and the couch was too lumpy. Soto said goodnight to his wife and fledgling, having to respect on many occasions just how bad Cri's insomnia had gotten over the course of the war. He left the room leaving the two dhampirs alone together.

"Raven." Cri began. The tone in her voice showed excitement but also seemed to contain an unnerving sense of worry. "Yes Cri?" Raven asked with her usual monotone. "Dhampir's physical transformation develops a lot faster than normal full breeds…I can sense your body's exact state of transformation will be complete in a matter of hours…And it is then I would like to take you to get your first taste of human blood pure and simple…"

The demonic vampire stared at her maker in a state of utter shock. She had hoped that she wouldn't have to deal with human blood for at least a few days time. Cri noted the empath's hesitation. "You can still feed off of me if you want but if I have to go back to the war I wont be here to help you and stop you if you loose yourself…" Raven nodded. She understood the urgency in this matter. "I understand Cri…I'm unhappy about it but I understand." Cri nodded solomly but her eyes held a faint glimmer of excitement that she couldn't hide from the empath. "Lets leave around midnight when the moon is high in the sky…It always calms my nerves when I see it…"

The two darker Titans stayed on the couch until the clock struck midnight. Cri smiled and got up. "I think it's safe to say that your change is far enough along to allow you to drink the ultimate elixir that will sooth your dark eternal thirst…" Raven shuddered as she heard Cri speak. It was very rare that Cri actually acted and sounded like a vampire but when she did she milked it for all it was worth. At least in the empath's opinion she did. For all she knew Cri could just act like a human the whole time and this was her true nature.

Raven followed her maker to the window. She was actually looking forward to getting her first taste of pure human blood, and she hated herself for it. Cri quickly took off, not bothering with her wings. Raven quickly followed her trying to hide the excitement her emotion Lust was giving off. That particular emotion had always been there but made itself known only after Raven's transformation.

Cri quickly spotted a beggar sleeping in a box in an alleyway. She quickly scanned his mind. He could make a good first meal as long as he hasn't had any alcohol recently. Cri was surprised to find that he had never even sampled alcohol or any sort of drug. This seemed to probe her curiosity and she flew down onto a nearby building for a closer look. Raven landed next to her and looked down. "Him?" Cri shook her head. "This may be the perfect chance to do something good…I try and go out of my way to help one human in need for every human I feed off of even if I don't kill them…" Raven just looked down at the man watching him sleep.

Cri continued to scan his mind. He had been born into a normal home…He hadn't wasted his money on gambling or anything like that. She seemed puzzled until she found the answer. His home had been destroyed by Cinderblock's last rampage not a day after the bank he kept his money in went broke. Cri motioned for Raven to stay where she was and the dhampir jumped down off the building, landing without a sound in front of the box. She dug in her pocket and quickly produced some money. She then left it next to the man along with some of the dried fruit and smoked meat she always seemed to carry around with her.

She shook the man softly before teleporting off. He woke with a start and looked around. His eyes fell on the money and the food. He got out of his box, picked the food and money up, and looked around. After seeing no one he devoured the food and proceeded to count the money wondering how much was given to him. As it turns out, Cri had left him approximately $640 in twenties. He once again looked around, his eyes wide when a blanket was dropped at his feet from somewhere up on the roof. He caught a flick of a cape before the figure disappeared onto the roof.

Raven had taken Cri's words to heart and had gone to get a blanket for the man as soon as Cri had given her gifts. The dhampiric girls heard a soft 'hello?' as the man called up at them. "Thank you very much." They herd him say. Cri smiled at Raven and she smiled back. Cri responded with a faint telepathic 'you're welcome' before taking to the air once again.

Raven glanced at her. "You read his mind didn't you?" Cri simply nodded. "It's not fair when people loose everything just because someone else destroyed it. The city should do something so these people have another chance in the world…" Raven nodded. "You mean something like that?" Cri followed the Empath's finger to a point where a man in a robotic suit was tearing apart a building. "No…That's an office building…This section was due for demolition anyway so I don't get what the thrill is for this guy…Meh…you don't mind a bit of junk food do you?" A small smile tugged at Raven's lips. "No…"

Cri smirked and dove down and ripped the left arm off of the robot suit. "You a puny mortal dare to oppose Adonis?" The man shouted. "Cri stopped for a moment and gave him a skeptical look. "Alright when are the men in the white suits coming to take you to the funny farm?" At that comment Adonis shouted and charged her raising his remaining fist. He swung his arm down and Cri merely caught it with one hand stopping it. The only thing that moved from the impact was her hair from the wind it created. "Was that supposed to be your best?"

Adonis's eyes widened and he tried to pull the suit's arm back but he couldn't budge it. Cri smiled making sure he saw her fangs. "I'm hungry…" She purred darkly. She quickly ripped off the other arm and kicked his legs out from under him. Cri would never openly admit it but she loved the feeling of power she had over humans. She loved watching them squirm and beg for their lives. Often times she didn't kill her prey…No she saved the killing for the battlefield.

Cri walked up next to Adonis and ripped off the front half of the robot suit and tossed it aside as if it were merely made of plastic. She slowly kneeled down next to him. The smell of his fear was driving her wild. "Don't worry," she whispered. "This wont hurt…Much…" Adonis immediately began crawling away from her, his entire body was trembling violently, and a look of pure horror was plastered on his face. She loved how she got the same reaction every time she said that. She grabbed him roughly by the back of his collar and forced him to the ground pinning him on his back with one knee. Adonis had begun to whimper but she shooshed him softly stroking his cheek. "Don't worry…It will all be over soon…"

Hearing the dhampirs comment, Adonis screamed for help and spotted Raven not far away. "Raven! Help me please! I will go quietly! I will serve my time! I…I…" His voice drifted off upon seeing the look of pure hunger in Raven's eyes. Her black cloak was flapping slightly in the wind showing her skin was a few shades paler than it should had ever been even for her standards. He broke into a cold sweat. This was not the quiet empath of the Teen Titans he had fought before. Raven was just like the other girl…A monster…No…A vampire."

"Cri, did you have to scare him like that? He looks like he is about to wet himself…" The empathetic dhampir stated plainly. Cri smirked evilly. "Oh but Raven, can't you smell his fear? I'm sorry but I really couldn't help myself…It drives my bloodlust wild." She licked her fangs eyeing Adonis hungrily. He struggled under her knee and screamed making her push her knee deeper into his chest. It was clear to Raven that Cri was showing off and scaring Adonis for kicks. It was also clear to Raven that the boy's fear was quite rapidly raising her bloodlust.

Cri's evil expression turned serious. "Remember Raven…Bite so your fangs are past the jugular…We don't want any accidents…" She eyed Adonis again who merely whimpered. "I will tell you when you have to stop…"

Raven nodded and kneeled down next to the boy. She felt strange feeding off of anyone other than Cri…This thought surprised her. "I'm getting more vampiric with each passing day…" It was true…The thought of drinking blood had become extremely enticing to her. She sighed slightly and turned her focus to Adonis. His fear had really begun to excite her and her fangs extended in anticipation. She slowly leaned over pinning Adonis to the ground. She took a deep breath basking in his fear for a moment before sinking her fangs into the soft flesh of his neck.

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Ok peeps that's it for chapter 13…Just to tell you there will be a part three…And here are some teasers for the upcoming chapters…The return of Slade…The identity of the pyromancer…The death of a loved one…A cure…And finally…(Censored) Like I would really tell you my big ending…LOL! I will leave a few clues though. 

Daddy Dearest

NOT a demon

Back from the dead (2nd time)

'Grandpa'

Full Blood Vampire

There are your five clues…I don't expect you to figure them out…But all you gamer fans out there will be kicking yourselves for not seeing it! And if you draw me something I may just tell you the answer early…


	14. Scarlet Thirst

Disclaimer – I do not own Teen Titans, Eragon, BloodRayne, Deltora Quest, Soul Reaver, Dark Stalkers, The Legend of Dragoon, or any of the other things that I took little tidbits from.

Greetings from my room peeps. I'm sorry to say but I don't care what you vote for anymore…Terra is back…But one thing you CAN vote for is if I should turn anyone else into a creature of darkness…And I take any and all suggestions…A werewolf, a vampire…Anything you can think of…excluding telemarketers and door to door sales people. That would be TOO scary even for one of my fics…

On another note I'm sorry this took so long to update…I have been writing a book (which I will not tell you guys about but I will tell you the title later on) and I have been busy with it as well as being my usual lazy self! Hey, I'm a procrastinator and I have standards to keep!

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**Chapter 14: Scarlet Thirst**

The Tower

The instant Adonis's blood fell upon Raven's tongue she felt as if she were in heaven. It was far sweeter than Cri's and so much thicker. The sticky fluid quickly cooled her burning throat and coated it. It warmed her body as it hit her stomach making her shiver and moan slightly. She reduced the blood flow to a sip, wanting the feeling of her first take of pure human blood to last as long as she could make it.

Raven had no idea how long Cri let her feed. The beating of Adonis's heart in her ears produced a hypnotic effect enhancing the feeling even more, making her feel as if she was floating in an endless void of pure pleasure. She felt at peace with everything, her emotions, her father, she just wanted to bask in the taste forever.

She was jerked rudely out of her trance by a sharp tap on the head. Raven immediately tore her fangs form Adonis's neck and swallowed hard. She hoped it didn't show but the empath was beginning to feel fear. She had promised herself that she would stay in control while feeding, that she would force herself to not enjoy it…But the taste and sensations of pure human blood had just shattered it.

She looked up at Cri who was actually smiling. "I didn't expect you to pull away on your own when I tapped you…I thought for sure I was gonna have to pull you off. Most fledglings can't come out of the trance they are put in by the sound of a mortal heartbeat…They usually have to be pulled away and restrained for a few minutes…And that's two months after they were turned…"

Raven grinned weakly and glanced back over at Adonis. He had crawled away and was now cowering under a piece of protruding rubble, his hand pressed over the bite marks. Cri slowly walked up to him smiling sadistically. "If you tell anyone about Raven's new 'eating habits' I will personally rip out your voice box and slowly carve out your heart using a dull hairpin…Is that clear?" Adonis nodded quickly shrinking back even more. "Good," Cri replied rather casually. She pulled Adonis's hand away from his neck and pressed her palm against the bloody bite marks, healing them. "I hope we meet again Adonis." Cri purred licking the blood off her hand.

She suddenly flinched and licked her hand a few more times. "Amazingly pure…" She mumbled between licks. She felt her fangs extend but she turned her back to Adonis. "Raven…Think we can find someone else tonight…My bloodlust has really been bothering me…" Raven narrowed her eyes…Something was wrong…Cri's usual rock steady stance was wavering slightly and she seemed to be growing paler. "Just one meal…Not like all the other nights…" She fell to her knees and wrapped her arms around herself.

Raven knelt beside her sire. "Cri…What's wrong?" Cri looked up at Raven tears stinging her eyes. "My bloodlust…It feels like I have gone a month without feeding and I gorged myself on five humans last night Raven…Five…All drained an inch from death…And I still wanted more…" Raven looked at her puzzled. "Why?" Raven asked quietly. Cri shook her head. "I have no idea…I just want to drink until I feel my stomach would burst…I want to just let my bloodlust rule my actions and loose myself in feeding for as long as possible…" Raven narrowed her eyes. She had studied dhampirs on Azarath and this was very unnatural behavior for them. Her mind was fuzzy on the matter but she knew that Cri didn't need blood. It was a condition caused by something. If only she could remember what. "Don't worry Cri…I think I know what's wrong…We just need to get back to the tower. I have a book with the answer in it…"

The War

Cri leaned back out of Soto's arms smiling. She gingerly took his head and placed it so that his ear was pressed against her stomach. "Do you hear her little heartbeat my love? I know I can…" Soto smiled and nodded slightly. "It brings me great joy knowing we will have a little one to call our own…" Cri's smile widened and she purred softly at him. "It brings me great joy too…Now…I get to name her." Soto gave her a funny look and chuckled. "And why do you get to name her?" Cri smiled mischievously at him. "Because I'm the one who is going to give birth to her." He sighed. "Fair enough…"

Cri grinned innocently at Soto. "I will name her Nightingale…" Soto just stared at her for a moment before smiling. "I like that name…" He whispered holding his love tightly in his arms. She smiled at him snuggling into his chest just content to be in his arms.

_9 Months later_

Cri knocked on the peacekeepers doors, dressed in her full dhampiric war attire. It consisted of a chain mail vest covered on both sides by thin, flexible, blood red leather. The front had a black design on it. Her pants were a durable flexible black leather and she wore spiked knee high leather boots with red on the upper rim. She also wore tough fingerless gloves of red and black and her gauntlets. Attached to them were her beloved blades and dhampir guns. As a final touch she wore a pair of her mother's hair rings and black ribbons so as not to forget her true home.

Cri was here because she had just finished her recovery month and was now ready to join the peacekeepers. She felt it not enough though. She hated having to give Nightingale to Soto to take care of when she was gone, but she knew that Soto would take good care of her and would sooner die then let her get hurt.

Giving birth to her daughter had been one of the most painful experiences of her entire life second only to Slade impaling her on that silver chain. Cri had also been very pleased at how well the law was doing. It's time had been extended a few years and she felt as happy as can be. The doors slowly opened, interrupting her thoughts, and she walked inside with her head held high feeling proud of herself, and just happy to be alive.

The Tower

Cri lay on Raven's bed curled up in a tight ball her arms crossed over her stomach whimpering softly. Raven was looking quickly through her bookshelf scanning books on dhampirs by the light of a floating candle. Raven had gone through over half of her books and found nothing of use. She was afraid the book she was looking for was left back on Azarath.

"Cri, I think I found it…" Cri sat bolt upright on the bed. "Read it Raven!" Cri nearly shouted at her. Raven cleared her throat and obeyed her sire's wish. "A dhampir normally requires far less blood than the normal vampire but a few things my trigger a temporary constant state of bloodlust if they are allowed to long to grow. This condition is sometimes known as Scarlet Thirst. They are stress, when something is missing, when something is desperately wanted, and finally a sense of impending doom but it is not known for what. In rare cases this condition can be triggered if a dhampir tastes an extremely exotic type of blood and its body will demand nothing less than the occasional taste of this blood. A mild stage of more than one of these conditions will also trigger it."

There was a long silence. Cri had no idea what she should do. This is because she has experienced or has been experiencing each and every one of those triggers. She has been stressed about the veil, she felt there was something or some clue she should see but just couldn't, she desperately wanted to cure the diseased people, she has had a sense of impending doom hanging over her head ever since she had returned and had no idea what was causing it, and finally the blood of a half demon is not something the average dhampir drinks every day.

"Every one of those has happened to me Raven…I don't know where to start…" Raven sighed. "Then start by seeing if my blood helps." She rolled up her sleeve slightly bearing her wrist to the distressed half vampire. Cri glanced at Raven slightly shocked and hesitated before sinking her fangs into it. Raven quickly turned her head away. She may now be a dhampir herself but watching Cri feed from her wrist would be just strange. Unbeknownst to Raven though Cri had secretly wanted to sample the demonic vampire's blood again.

Cri's eyes widened and she moaned slightly in shock. Raven's blood had changed drastically, or was it just her taste? It didn't really matter anyway. The demon's blood felt like molten fire as she drank and slowly dimmed down to the way it tasted when she turned her after just a few swallows. Cri let Raven have her wrist back and the dhampir licked her lips. "That…Was…So good…" She said gasping for breath one hand pressed over her heart. A small amount of color had returned to her cheeks and she felt a little better.

Raven nodded at her. "Personally I think it was a little of everything that did it to you…" Cri smiled weakly and stood shakily up. "I think that first thing tomorrow I should meditate with you to de stress myself and then force myself to cry and find some way to make it rain diluted phoenix tears or something…Raven gave her a skeptical look. "You're right…" Cri sighed. "It wouldn't work…But at least I'm trying to be optimistic little miss monotone…"

Raven glared at her. "Well let's not waste time then…We need to find out where the veil is coming from if we are ever going to stop it…How does the veil disease work? Is it a virus? A poison?" Cri shook her head. "It's a highly acidic mutagen…A very potent one." Raven thought for a moment. "So wouldn't a basic mutagen that would give the person opposite results if injected cancel each other out in the bloodstream…Or at least one mutagen fixes what the other changes over and over and over again until their body gets rid of both…" Cri's eyes lit up and she seemed to come back to life. "Then the disease wouldn't cause any problems! Trust the quiet one to come up with all the answers…" She gave Raven a light punch on the shoulder and smiled widely. Raven gave her a slight smile in return.

"Alright Cri," Raven said suddenly turning serious. "Now that that's settled would you please get out of my room?" Cri quickly got up and backed out of Raven's room. "Thanks for the help! Tomorrow calls for a little fun, and then a nice mutagenic sample of our good friend Plasmus. Raven's head jerked up just as the door was closing. 'Oh why did it have to be Plasmus?' She thought to herself. She hung her cape and belt up and crawled into her bed quickly falling asleep.

……………………………………………………

The next day was overcast and dark clouds were rolling in towards the city from all sides. It looked like there was going to be some major rain or snow happening soon. As Cri walked into the living room after finishing her breakfast (which she made sure to _drink_ after waiting for Titans to finish their meals first) She found Beastboy sitting on the couch looking depressed. Cri sat down next to him and tilted her head to the side. "What's wrong BB? You haven't told a joke all day…While all the other Titans and I are very thankful of this, I'm worried…What seems to be troubling you?"

The changeling looked up at the dhampir but quickly turned his head away. "It's nothing…" He said sadly. "Well it's something but nothing can be done about it…" Cri rested one hand on his shoulder. "Beastboy…It's ok…You can tell me…" Beastboy faltered for a moment and hung his head in defeat. "Alright Cri…It's been a full two months today since Terra was petrified…You didn't know her…" Cri looked at him curiously. "Did you love her?" Beastboy's head jerked up and he looked at Cri, his eyes filling with tears. He nodded slowly. "Well then," Cri said smiling slightly. "We shall revive her with the power of love! Oh, and a little black magic mixed in with a spell I like to call 'Stone to Flesh'"

……

After reading up on a few spells Cri was ready to go. She teleported Beastboy and herself to central park where Terra's statue had been moved after the incident with Slade had been completely resolved. "Alright Beastboy, lead the way." The changeling walked into the park, Cri right behind him. Beastboy led her right up to Terra's statue. She whistled as she looked up at it. "Wow…Complete petrifaction…If I revive her you're going to owe me B…This is going to take a lot out of me…"

Cri placed one hand on the statue and closed her eyes, immediately finding herself in a plain white void. She looked around and found Terra curled in a fetal position a ways off. Cri looked down at herself. She was in her true vampiric form in the void but it couldn't be helped. She was completely black and furry with cat ears, a tail, and a raven's wings. There was a V of silver fur on her chest and her tail was tipped with silver. Two hair strands of silver framed her face and her wings were highlighted with it. Her hands and feet were also dipped in silver, along with the tips of her ears. She sighed and flew towards Terra hoping she wouldn't scare her too much.

As Cri approached the blonde girl she took one look at the dhampir's form and closed her eyes again. "Are you death?" She asked in a timid voice. "I hope you are…I hope my punishment is over and I can finally rest…" Cri's eyes grew pained. "No Terra…I'm not the reaper of souls but I am here for you…" She got up close to her face. "Would you like another chance to live? Beastboy misses you dearly and…" She shot up looking at her wide eyed. "Beastboy? Really? I will do whatever it takes to get out of here!"

Cri just smiled. "In that case just sit here and don't move…Clear your mind…Rest while you can…This is going to hurt…A lot…" Cri teleported out before Terra could Respond. Beastboy nearly pounced on Cri when he saw her start moving again. "What's the news? Does she want to be restored?" Cri nodded smiling. "Stand back alright?" She waited a minute or so before placing her hands on the smooth stone. She began chanting softly, making the stone glow with a bright, cleansing energy.

It took a good thirty seconds but finally the energy died down and there stood Terra, her flesh and blood restored, teetering slightly. She fell off the pedestal and Cri tried to catch her but Beastboy beat her to it. "Terra!" He shouted. Terra cracked her eyes open and looked up at the changeling. "Beastboy?" She said weakly. "Are you mad at me?" Beastboy shook his head. "Of course not Terra…How could I? You're finally back!" Terra smiled and closed her eyes again. Finally this Titan had returned home.

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There another (yet overdue) chapter finished. I really am sorry it took so long...I actually had it finished a few days ago but I have a bad cold. Sorry 'bout that...Hope you enjoy it! Please review!


	15. Resurrection

Disclaimer – I do not own Teen Titans, Eragon, BloodRayne, Deltora Quest, Soul Reaver, Dark Stalkers, The Legend of Dragoon, or any of the other things that I took little tidbits from.

Here is your chapter 15 just as you hoped…I need reviews…I'm not posting the next chapter until I get at least 5…This is actually a semi-good story but I feel like I'm wasting my life on it. I could be doing other things and I know not everyone likes an OC but I know the story is well written. I'm going to go back and fix up the other chapters before I update this again, if at all.

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**Chapter 15: Resurrection**

The Tower

Even though Cri was by far much stronger than Beastboy, he insisted on carrying her home. He was just so happy to have her back with him that he actually shoved Raven out of the way as he entered the tower. She dropped her book and glared at him, baring her fangs and hissing softly. Beastboy ignored her carrying Terra away, leaving her standing there with a perplexed look on her face. She blinked in confusion a few times before she realized who Beastboy was holding.

"Terra?" Raven asked softly.

Cri appeared next to her, nodding. "He is so happy now…He deserves a person like her…"

Raven just stared at the Dhampir, a look of utter shock painted clearly on her delicate features. "You actually managed to revive her? I tried every spell I could think of!"

Cri nodded enthusiastically, making her hair ribbons jingle. "Sure did! Now if you don't mind, I'm gonna raid the fridge. That spell took a lot out of me…"

She made her way over to the refrigerator and began devouring anything that did not have blue fuzz on it, leaving Raven too stunned to speak.

Soto walked up to her and watched his love. "Is there anything left?"

She looked up at him and shook her head, just as she took a large bite out of a turkey leg. "Nope! But I'm going shopping anyway…"

Soto smiled at her, his fangs gleaming in the dim light. "Alright."

Cri stood up and wiped her mouth. "Come on Raven…Let's go see Terra."

Raven nodded, and levitated into the air. Cri left the room, dragging Soto with her. Raven followed, her feet floating a few inches off of the ground.

By the time the trio had reached Terra's room, every Titan was crowding around her bed. Even Spike had come to see what was going on. Raven Told Soto and Cri to wait outside, and she walked in, looking down at the traitorous Titan.

"Hello Terra…" She said, her voice holding a slight edge.

Terra looked up at the empath, her misty eyes focusing on the gothic Titan. "Raven?" She whispered. "You're wearing black? It's a good look for you…"

Raven seemed to tense slightly and she looked away. "It just symbolizes my newfound corruption…" She spat. "At one point I was actually pure…Then…Then the veil disease took that from me…"

Cri cast her eyes to the floor, waves of guilt washing over her. Raven glanced back at Cri, an apologetic expression on her face. "Terra…I want you to meet the one who revived you…And the one who kept me from loosing my mind to the disease…" She motioned for Cri to enter, and the dhampir did so, her lips tightening.

Cri touched both of her wrists and clapped her fists together in a formal vampiric greeting. "Greetings Terra…Beastboy has said much about you…" She smiled slightly showing her fangs.

Terra seemed shocked for a moment, and then squinted slightly. "My eyes are playing tricks on me…"

Cri raised one eyebrow. "Oh you mean my fangs? I'm dhampir…Half vampire…I drink blood" Terra just stared at her, shocked.

Suddenly something seemed to click in her head and she looked back at Raven with the same look of awe and fear. "Then by corruption you mean you're now…"

Raven nodded, pulling her hood further up over her face. "Please don't remind me…"

Beastboy seemed to perk up. "That reminds me Raven! You went out feeding last night! How was it?"

Raven literally jumped back and looked at him. One could vaguely see the blush under her hood before she hung her head again. "I don't want to talk about it…" She mumbled softly.

Beastboy, being Beastboy, didn't know when to quit, so he pressed the matter. "No, tell us!" He begged.

Raven drew back more, shaking her head. Beastboy was just about to ask for the third time when Raven turned on him, her eyes were glowing a bright and deadly crimson.

"Dammit Beastboy!!! I loved it more than life itself! Are you satisfied now? Now that you know I'm nothing but a blood-thirsty monster?" There was blood running down her face now. No, not blood, tears. Tears of rage and self loathing.

Beastboy ran to a corner and cowered there. If Raven was angry enough to curse then there is a high probability you will not survive. She looked about to jump him, her fangs bared in a snarl. She turned and ran out of the room instead, fleeing from the pain.

Cri called her name as she left, but Raven didn't stop. Cri's eyes burned crimson her gaze boring into the changeling with the fury of a thousand suns before running off to comfort the distressed empath.

Beastboy looked around the room at everyone glaring at him. "What?" He asked. Something suddenly clicked in his brain, and he hung his head, his ears drooping. "Am I in trouble?"

The reply was instantaneous, unified, and very loud. "YES!"

Cri tracked Raven up into her room, where she found the empath sobbing in a corner. Cri silently entered the room. Raven had hid her emotions so effectively, the dhampir hadn't even had the slightest impression of the self loathing her fledgling was experiencing, spawned purely from her new existence.

Cri walked up to Raven, wrapping one arm around her trembling shoulders. Raven instinctively turned and wrapped her arms around her sire, burying her head in her shoulder. Her nails dug into Cri's back as her grip around her tightened.

"Why did you do this to me Cri?" Raven sniffed, her eyes closed tightly.

Cri sighed and ran one gloved hand through the empath's violet hair. "I did it to save your life Raven. You are a major part of this team, and they need you."

Cri pushed the demonic dhampir back slightly so she could look into her eyes. "I know there is a cure, but I need you to hold it together until we figure out what it is. Can you do that for me?"

Raven reluctantly nodded, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

The War

A spotlight streamed down from an unseen source in the infinitely high ceiling above. Immediately the area around her was filled with hooded figures. The extreme contrast of the spotlight and that of the dimness around the dhampir cast the faces of those around her in shadow, save for one. Alkoroth stood in the center, his armor gleaming in the dim light. He looked like some magnificent pagan god of war, beauty, and power.

Cri knelt before the members of the Peacekeepers, her arms and hands motioning the traditional vampiric signs of respect. Slowly, she rose to her feet, eyes expertly scanning the room.

"This is an ambush" She remarked bluntly. "A very poor one."

Alkoroth merely smiled, his carnivorous teeth shining horribly. "Why, yes it is little dhampir. Our original plan was to infiltrate your vampiric base and discover who the traitor among you is, but I thought it best if we eliminate the vampiric scum entirely. We shall, how you say, kill two birds with one stone."

The dragon snapped his fingers, each one of the hooded figures drawing a knife of silver, the gold gilded hilt reflecting around the room as if the half vampire was surrounded by a ring of hellfire, hungry demons ready to pounce as the ring contracted itself ever tighter.

"Traitor?" Cri asked softly. "What traitor?! What do you know Alkoroth?!" She ended with a shout, her body trembling. Things did not bode well.

The elfin dragon had removed one of his gauntlets, examining his nails with utter boredom. "It matters not. Soon your soul shall burn in hell where it belongs. Do not worry, soon you will be joined by the rest of your foul kind, I assure you."

Cri looked around at the hooded figures, prepared to spring for a killing strike. "You're right Alkoroth." She said, her eyes and chakra gem flaring to life, ignited with the flames of her anger. "It doesn't matter." And with that said, the cloaked figures dashed forward, daggers raised high.

The Tower

Cri had barely enough time to comfort Raven before an excited Nightingale tackled her to the ground, hopping up and down excitedly. "It's snowing mommy! It's snowing!"

The dhampir rose to her feet, and approached the window. Sure enough, it was snowing outside.

"Can we go play? Please mommy?" The young vampire begged. She had already donned her snow attire, her father standing behind her, a small smile gracing his usually stoic features.

"Come my love and let us embrace this winter wonderland." He spoke, over dramatizing his words with large sweeping actions.

Cri nodded before smiling goofily down at the empath. "C'mon Raven… You know you wanna… Vampires love the snow!"

Without waiting for an answer, the dhampir scooped up Raven into her arms and carried her out of the common room.

………

Somewhere, on the mainland, a sniper was perched atop the roof of a tall building. Titan's tower was nestled quite comfortably in his scope. In his rifle, was a heavy, armor piercing round made of pure silver.

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The time it took me to write the last chunk of this chapter was amazing. Wow. Have I ever lost interest in this story. This will probably be my final update unless you people really want me to keep going. Please review and tell me so, if you even still check for updates… 


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